Must Love Dogs
by snuggled
Summary: Shino Aburame has recently been dumped by a psycho woman from work. As a last resort, he looks to the newspaper for romance. He responds to an ad in the paper...and gets someone he wasn't planning on. AU/office romance/the gay/language
1. You're Nothing Like the Ad!

"_Must Love Dogs" was conjured up after I was watching The Rock with the 'rents, and they were channel surfing and that movie popped up. I've never seen the movie, so if you're looking for a Naruto version, tough luck. If you're looking for something that will have sort of the same elements, good luck finding them. Because I don't know if they're in here or not. I __**do**__ know it will include some office romance. Shino's going to be in his late twenties in this. I know, I'm gross._

_Another inspiration for this fanfic is American Psycho. Don't go watch it. It will eff you up, for serious. Too much sex and blood. But it's great, because Christian Bale has a run-in with a gay character in the men's room at an upscale restaurant. The entire movie is sort of a statement on materialism and the competition in the executive food chain. Oh goodness, I really want to read the book it was based off of. All I can say is the movie is set up in a witty way–for instance, he calls up this woman and is telling her that her fiancée is a dirty pig, while in the background he's watching a hard-core almost-S&M lesbian porno. Genius._

_The parties involved in this fic might be out of character, but that's mainly because…they have to be. Because I don't think there are actually any canonly __gay__ characters in the show. Except for maybe Sai._

_And this fic will have the gay. If you don't like the gay, stay away. If you welcome it with eager arms, then be my guest!_

_In terms of who I like writing about the most, those characters would have to be Chouji, Shikamaru, Hinata, TenTen and Shino. Hopefully I will be adding onto that list. Heehee. I also want to try my hand at writing Karin in this fic. Because she's too much of a psycho bitch to __not__ write about. If you haven't read ahead in either the manga or seen the new Shippuden anime series, you won't understand who Karin or Suigetsu are. And that's fine for you. This story holds no spoilers._

_Oh, and this fic won't take place in the Naruto universe, though it won't exactly take place in ours either. It's like…somewhere in the middle…if that makes sense._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**_  
Scene 1_

Shino Aburame looked out his apartment window, sighing. There was a beep from his message machine, and he looked over just in time to hear the screeching from his ex fill the room.

"Suigetsu, get the hell out of here! Can't you see I'm on the phone!? Whaaaat!? Don't tell me you got fired! You still have to pay rent, you butthole! Don't think I'm helping you out! Go and beg for your job back, you stupid fu–"

The message machine cut off, and Shino sighed. That was the _fourth_ call in the past week. It wasn't like he'd broken up with her or anything! She had broken up with _him_ for some idiot named Sasuke that worked in the office. Yeah, _her_ interest in _him_ only lasted one week until she flitted off to another… Figured…

Like _her_ place wasn't infested with roaches, either… He couldn't help it if they seemed to _love_ him! He even sprayed, but they wouldn't stay away!

His message machine beeped once more, and he sighed again.

"Shino, dear, I was just wondering when you'd get out of the house and find a new girl… After all, I know I'm gorgeous, but you have to get over me eventually… It's sad to think you've been living all this time…lonely…in that roach-infested apartment…dreaming about me night and day… Well, I'm off to go see Sasuke! Tata–aaaa!! Suigetsu! You get the _hell_ out of this apartment and beg for that goddamn job, you–"

When the message cut off again, he put his face in his hands and started to laugh. All this time? Like what–two days? What the hell was she doing living with Suigetsu anyway? Everyone knew at the office that they hated each other with a passion. The only reason he could come up with was the fact that Suigetsu had been the only intern–when both of them first started–that said they'd be able to pay rent with help. Why they were _still_ living together, he had a only slight clue.

It probably had something to do with the fact that Karin couldn't hold onto money to save her life. If there was a materialistic psycho bitch contest, she'd surely win. He couldn't even remember why he'd asked her out now…

It was like that with all the girls he dated. They usually lasted a good week and a half–two, if lucky–before either they broke up with him or he got tired of something they did and broke up with them.

He wound up dating that skank Ino, the secretary, for a good four weeks–a world record for him–before she also broke up with him for Sasuke. What was so great about Sasuke, anyway? That asshole was too obsessed with work and image to care about _women_.

And that's why he picked up the newspaper and started looking through the classifieds. Every once in a while there was an ad for a single woman who was looking, and today was one of those moments.

He took a closer look at it, flipping out his trusty red pen and going over it line by line. He was just a little bit of a perfectionist that way.

"_Man wanted."_ It read. _"Spunky brunette looking for someone to mellow out with."_ It went on to show a short description of the lady, what she looked for in a date, places they frequented–this woman was a little careless, wasn't she?–and finally, in bold font at the bottom, right above the woman's phone number, was a single phrase–

"**Must love dogs."**

He looked up for a moment and, spying a roach scurry across the table underneath the rest of the newspaper, circled the number. He stood, grabbing for his phone. Well, he wasn't getting anywhere just sitting around _waiting_ for a woman to show up, and he'd practically dated all the women in the office–all the ones that would have him, that is. That left this desperate move. If she had a thing for miniature Chihuahuas or poodles, he'd break it off in a hurry. There was nothing more annoying than those ankle-biters.

He dialed the number, and the phone rang twice before picking up. "Hello? This is Hana Inuzuka speaking…"

Her voice was gruff, but very feminine. He smiled a little, leaning against the wall. "Yeah, I saw your ad in the newspaper… I was interested in a date sometime."

"Wait, _ad_? Let's see… Ad… Ad… Oh!" She laughed. "_That_ ad! Yes, that's _wonderful_! So, when would be best time for you??"

He tinged pink, rubbing the back of his head. "Well…I'm kind of free right now…if it's not too much trouble…"

"Oh, it isn't any trouble at all! See, you can find 'em over at the park on 53rd street. You know where that is, right? Look for a dog named Akamaru. That's how you'll know you've found the right person."

The line disconnected in a hurry and Shino blinked, drawing the phone away from his ear and staring at it. This girl was no nonsense, apparently… He sighed, looking around the room. He figured he could shower real quick and change into something more casual–he was still wearing his clothes from work the other day.

–––––––––––––––––––

Twenty minutes later, he had freshened up and was making his way to 53rd Street. The park there was very nice, minus the fact that it was the only park in the city until you reached the suburbs. He entered the gate, looking around. There were many dogs there–many women with dogs, too.

Quite a few were brunette, but none of them matched up with the voice on the phone. They were all too thin, too timid-looking, too…pretty. He was expecting someone a bit more average looking…

As he rounded the corner of a tree, a dog the size of a small taxi bounded over to him, barking wildly. He wailed as the dog jumped right on him. He toppled over, hitting his head hard on the ground below.

"No, Akamaru! Down! Bad dog!"

His eyes widened, and his vision was a blur of colours and bright lights dancing across his line of sight. The dog leaped off of him, and he sat up, dazed. "What…"

"Akamaru, what did I tell you about jumping on strangers? We'll never make friends if you keep being so jumpy!"

Shino turned, gulping. His vision was starting to settle out, and there was a little ray of hope. This was the girl in the ad–he'd found her! His vision finally righted itself, and she bent over.

"Oh, are you alright? Akamaru didn't hurt you, did he?" She chuckled. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Kiba…Kiba Inuzuka."

His eyes turned to the mystery girl and she was…………A MAN!?


	2. Let's Do Lunch!

_The first chapter is short, and I'm trying to limit myself to shorter chapters and a shorter story with this one. Of course, to a degree that's going to be difficult, due to the nature of the characters, in regards to the fact that Shino's never been interested in men before._

_Le sigh._

_Hope no one's offended by the whole Karin/Shino pairing I added in there. I found it funny, though she's got to be at least four years older than him, right? At least that much?_

_I like the idea of Ino being a secretary. When he goes to work next, I'll be sure to have her yell at him._

_I don't really know why I picked the setting I did–the office, I mean. I think it was due to the fact that I needed them all to be involved in the same area, but didn't know how. Either way, I like the idea of Shino being a business man. He shouldn't have his own office yet. I think you all will be pleasantly surprised at his boss and the place he works, though. Next chapter I may randomly switch to first person. I have no idea why, but ever since Runner's High, every time I try to write boy love, it always ends up being in first person. Which is bad because there's an actual _reason_ why I'm writing Runner's High in first person–something to do with the way it ends, but there's really no special reason for me to write this story in first person…_

_I hope everyone likes the back-story for Kiba-kins. :D I liked writing it. And I find a sick desire for Shino's past to be his real past. Those types of farms exist, though. O: Anyone ever see the movie Squirm? So cheesy and deliciously bad. I love it so much. First saw it on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I'll admit: the commentary made it twice as good as the original. The actual movie is pretty hilarious in its own right, what with the overuse of spaghetti and all that._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 2_

Shino stared at the man for a moment, looking for words that never came. Instead, the man grabbed his hand, helping him to his feet. "Can you speak?" He asked, but Shino was barely paying attention to him.

"_He__ is my date!?"_ His brain kept screaming.

His heart rate sped up, and Shino quickly went through the list of places this guy frequented. A few restaurants he recognized, but there was one that stuck out in his mind from the beginning as odd for a girl to go to–Ice. Ice was a club downtown known for being sort of a hang-out for gay guys. Of course, it wasn't technically a gay club, so many women went there, too…though not very many… He was pretty sure Karin was the only one.

Shino bent down, searching for the shades the dog had knocked off his face. How could he have been so stupid!? He should have known! But who was that woman on the phone, then!?

"Uh…hello? Did you hear me?"

He placed the shades back on his face and turned to the one named Kiba finally. "Yes. I heard you. Sorry, I was just thinking…" Shino resisted the urge to book it right then and there, and instead managed to extend his hand out to him. By the looks of it, it seemed like the man had no idea he was here for a date.

"I'm Shino Aburame," he started. "Tell me, Inuzuka–"

The Inuzuka laughed, patting his dog–Akamaru–on the head as it sat patiently by his side. "Oh, just call me Kiba."

Shino just nodded. "Kiba, right. So…Kiba…what the hell have you been feeding that dog to make it grow so big?"

For a while Kiba stared at him with the queerest expression on his face–like he was trying to decide if that had been an insult or a compliment–before he finally gave the other a bright grin. "Akamaru's a mutt I found on the street. I'm not really sure what breed he is, but I think one half of him is a type of dog bred to hunt lions. At least, that's about as much as I can figure. Maybe the other part is Great Dane?" He laughed again, and Shino just about lost it.

"Uh…s-so…what brings you to the park? Any…er…plans?"

Kiba shrugged. "Not really… I had originally planned on taking Akamaru out to meet some friendly new faces, but then my sister called and told me I was supposed to meet someone here."

Shino's face brightened. So _that_ explained it! "Sister?"

Kiba looked at him, wondering if he could trust him or not, before nodding his head a little. "Yes… See, I moved in with my sister about a year ago. My parents kicked me out of the house when they found…er…well, that's not important. I've sort of been disowned from the family name, you see… Of course, when my father died six months ago, my mother said she wouldn't mind me moving back…but I like it here. It's much nicer than back home. I'm finally finding a job that should hopefully work, and I feel my career getting off the ground."

Shino's eyebrows rose, and he found it was really it easy to talk to this fellow. "Oh? That's interesting. I moved here from a farming community." His cheeks went red. "My father farmed _worms_, to be honest… It's…kind of embarrassing. I try to forget about it, actually…"

The other man laughed. "Are you serious!? _Worm_ farming? That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! It's like something out of a terrible animal-themed horror film!" Shino just flushed further, groaning a little and rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably.

The shorter man looked up at him, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "Well, we can't all come from the best backgrounds, can we? I think that's neat. Worm farming. It's…uh…distinctive…"

Shino's face paled back to its original colour. "Yeah? Where are you from? Your parents rich or something? Why'd they kick you out in the first place? It couldn't have been that bad… It's not like you got a woman pregnant or anything." He laughed a little, hoping Kiba would react in the way he thought he would.

Kiba smiled, twiddling his thumbs a little. After a moment, he glanced at the taller man, waving his hand a little. His cheeks went pink. "Yeah…at least I didn't do that… Well, Shino…this was a nice chat. You seem pretty easy to talk to. If I see you again, we should definitely do lunch…"

His face turned to his dog, and it brightened considerably, energetically. "Come on, Akamaru! Let's go find some friends for you! And try not to knock them over this time, boy!" The dog barked in response, suddenly active again.

Shino watched the man dash off with the dog and nodded his head a little. He furrowed his brows, glancing up at the sky and thinking. "Hmmm…I think I know why he was kicked out of his house…" He chuckled, taking his leave. "Doubt I'd ever see him again, though…"

Boy, was he wrong.

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba walked into the door of his sister's upscale apartment–she lived in the pent house suite–, letting Akamaru go bounding off into the room they designated as his bed. "Good afternoon, sis." The second Akamaru was out of the room, his face fell and he sighed.

His sister looked up from the stove, where she was cooking a roast for their dinner that night. On the counter, among countless amounts of vegetables she had set out to cook later, she had a few folders and important-looking documents scattered all over the place. He was really proud of his sister–and so was his dad, when he had been alive. She hadn't taken over the business, but she _had_ become a rather successful prosecutor at the law firm she was currently employed at.

"What is it, Kiba?"

Kiba just groaned in response, throwing himself on the couch and staring up at the ceiling. His eyes drifted over to the picture hanging over the plasma screen television. It was a picture of the family's favored pooch back when he was younger. The dog's name had been something that had to do with stars, but for the life of him he couldn't remember it anymore.

His sister took the reading glasses off her nose, stepping out of the kitchen and wiping her hands off with a towel. He was surprised to see she still hadn't changed out of her work clothes. "Was it your date?" She said, her voice barely over a whisper.

Kiba threw his arms up in the air, finally feeling enraged. "My date never showed! I printed that ad in the paper looking for results, and who did I get to chat with!? A _worm_ farmer's son! What kind of person _farms worms_!? What do you do–water them until they mature and then dig them out of the ground!?"

His sister smirked. "But you still spoke with a nice boy, right?"

Kiba shot up, staring at her. "Boy!? He was _taller_ than me and looked like a really clean-cut derelict! He had to _at least_ be a year older than me! He was wearing _sunglasses_ for crying out loud, Hana!"

His sister smiled, putting a hand over her mouth. "Well, it _is_ summer …" Though her appearance suggested she found it funny, she was finding his little outburst a bit…aggravating.

Kiba just looked at her. "And a _trenchcoat_. In summer."

She snickered, going back to the kitchen. "Well…maybe he was a flasher… You're lucky he didn't flash you."

Kiba went red. "No, he was wearing _pants_. I could tell. He had on really nice shoes, though. You know, you can tell a lot about a person by the shoes they wear. I think they were boots of some kind…" He sighed, lying back down on the couch. "Akamaru liked him right off the bat. That's pretty rare, you know. Usually he just jumps on other dogs and old ladies…"

She dropped the glasses in her hand in surprise, and before she picked them up, she poked her head back out. "Oh, well if Akamaru liked him, I'm sure you did, too…"

Kiba smiled a little, leaning back and kicking his shoes off. "I would've asked for his number…but there was something about him… For some reason, I was almost ready to blurt out that I was gay. I'm usually not like that in public places…well, except at Ice…"

"That's great! He may've been the guy you were looking for! Why didn't you give him your number??"

"That's the thing, Hana… I have no idea what was stopping me."


	3. You've Gotta Be Shittin' Me!

_Weeewoooooo. Alrighty then. Got my first review on this fic, and I feel great!_

_Uh…I don't really have anything right now to say on this chapter…except for the fact that where he works was conjured up while I was taking a shower. Lots of ideas come to me in the shower. All of the good ones do, anyway. Here's to the idea being a good one, then. _

_Oh, this story starts off in a first person monologue by Shino-kins. Then it returns to normal. (It gets monologued because the information's important.)_

_I fixed the monologue in this chapter when I realized it was a bitch to read because I decided it'd look much more organized if they didn't have a space between them. Uh__…that was a bad idea._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 3_

_I work at a magazine company owned by some old guy named Jiraiya. I work in the distribution department, making sure we ship the right amount at the start of every month. Along with that, I also deal with subscriptions and try to sell the magazine to people… I'm never successful._

_The magazine is actually a two-parter. One version for men–_Love Quarterly for Him_–, and the other for women–_Love Quarterly for Her_. People often claim the magazine is one of _those_ types, but the boss vehemently denies it._

_Any way I look at it…my job sucks balls. Our boss is always accused of sexual harassment, though he's really just one big perverted flirt. The final instance was when he tripped and accidentally landed on top of one of the girls from the editing department. She filed a lawsuit and quit, and now every woman who applies for a job here is told that Jiraiya might try something. It's all to avoid a lawsuit, but some of the women who work here claim it's an act to keep women out of the work place. I say let them take our shitty jobs. I don't want it; let them _have_ it._

_Since then, there haven't been very many females getting jobs here…except for TenTen. For whatever reason, TenTen promised she'd deal with the boss appropriately and signed right up. She used to do the same job I did, except for the woman's division…that is, until she was promoted after wowing Jiraiya with talk on there needing to be more articles in the man's version of _Love Quarterly_ that remind them to respect women, and more articles in the women's _LoveQuarterly_ that help empower the women that read it._

_Now she has an "Ask TenTen" section in the women's magazine. In it, she deals with women who are trying to deal with pig-headed boyfriends or abusive relationships. Needless to say, TenTen's good at what she does._

_At one point I tried to pursue her, but she just laughed and shunned me. As she does everyone else that tries anything with her._

_Yeah. My job severely sucks. And the fact that I don't get out much just makes it worse… Many acquaintances, but no friends. That's me: Shino Aburame._

––––––––––––––––––

He yanked down on the tie, tightening it around his neck, and went to smooth out the wrinkles in his suit-coat. The man sighed, dashing over to the kitchen and grabbing a piece of toast as it popped out of the toaster. He hadn't even put his shoes on yet–he couldn't find them!

"Hana!" He screamed, hoping his sister wasn't already at work. "Have you seen my shoes!? I'm running late!" As he was stumbling out of the kitchen and into the living room, he nearly tripped over something small in his path.

He grumbled, looking down, only to really start screaming. "Akamaru! These shoes are brand new! Couldn't you have chewed up the older ones!?" He dropped to the ground, searching for the other one of his pair and, finding it underneath the couch, grabbed for it.

Inside the other room, he could hear his sister shifting out of bed and stepping into her slippers. "Kiba, those _are_ your old shoes. I put your new ones away."

He whirled around, frantic. "Wh-Why!?"

"So they'd be good for today. You know how much Akamaru likes your shoes…" She shuffled around in her room some more, and he heard the closet door slide open. After a while, she came out with a box. "Here they are."

He grabbed them from her, bowing emphatically. "Thank you so much! I was so terrified I'd have to go to work looking even more like a mess!"

His sister chuckled, going over to him and straightening his tie, smoothing it down and fixing the knot. "Yes, well the least you could do would be to learn how to tie your own tie, Kiba. That skill is a life-saver. You're not going to be living with me forever, you know…"

"No time for that!" He shoved the toast into his mouth and swallowed, nearly choking. "I have to go, Hana!" He kissed his sister on the cheek and dashed off, slamming the door behind him. He'd still forgotten to put his shoes on.

His sister looked down at the shoes, almost laughing. He was in such a hurry he hadn't noticed those shoes were hers…

…Her eyes widened. "Akamaru! Bad dog! I told you my favorite pumps were off limits!"

––––––––––––––––––

Shino swallowed his breakfast–a protein shake, the only thing he ever had time for in the morning–and finished up his morning routine. He brushed his teeth, combed his hair back as best as it would go–his hair had always been a mass of frizz–, slid his nice shoes on and smoothed down his suit-coat. There–all nice and neat and ready for work. As he left his apartment, he made sure to grab the overcoat hanging up by the door.

He arrived at work at precisely seven–not a minute too soon or too late. As he entered the main room, the faint sound of Tori Amos filled the air. Figured…Ino was obsessed with her lately… She was also notorious for playing music during work hours. Once, when he'd called in sick–it was unavoidable, he had an ulcer and the doctor had recommended some rest from the office–he couldn't even hear her over her music. What resulted was her thinking he'd said one _month_ of vacation instead of one _week_. Everyone was surprised when he showed up for work a week later.

"Right on time, as always, Shino…"

Shino gave a nod to Ino, went to the door to the cubicles.

"Except of course, there was a storm last night, so you must've gotten the wrong time… You're actually an hour late. Good job, Shino. Not even the roaches can help keep your clock at the precise time."

His face paled, and he dreaded opening the door. An _hour_ late? But…But he was _always_ on time! He hadn't been late since he took this job four years ago! He glanced over at Ino briefly, and she simply gave him a simpering smile.

"Well, aren't you going to go in? Jiraiya's been waiting for you. The replacement for Suigetsu came in four minutes ago and Jiraiya wanted _you_ to show him around as punishment."

"Oh, don't give me that bull shit, Ino."

Ino laughed, waving her hands in the air toward him. "If I were making it up I wouldn't be having nearly as much fun!"

Shino glared at her, walking in the door to the cubicles. There was a blast of noise, even louder than the Tori Amos playing from Ino's computer. There were phones ringing, papers shuffling, people banging on their desks, screaming bloody murder as the new network installed the previous week was now hiding files that they desperately needed.

He stepped through the office, making his way over to his cubicle.

"Oh, Shino! You're so late! That's rare for you! Late night up, eh??" Karin giggled as he passed by her cubicle, but he ignored her.

Shikamaru was the next to speak to him; Shikamaru's desk was right next to his, and he finally sat down, hanging his overcoat over his office chair. Shikamaru walked over, placing a document on his desk, looking bored– "Oh, hello, Shino. I was waiting for you to show up. You're not too busy, are you? Handle this for me, will you?" Shino smiled, a bit put-off. Shikamaru was always giving him assignments he didn't feel like doing.

He said he'd do it, and Shikamaru went back to his desk, getting started on an enthralling game of internet chess–as usual. Shino stood, needing to get to Jiraiya's office at the end of the room, through the hallway that led to the break room, the bathrooms, and the offices. As he walked through the room, others were saying hello to him.

"Good afternoon, Shino. Or, what will be the afternoon in four hours…" Sasuke, the bastard that was currently trying his hardest to invest enough money to start his own business–one that would compete with his brother's. He was always a royal prick to anyone that dared to come near him. It was a wonder women went after him as much as they did…

"Ah, Shino! It's nice to see you! I was afraid you were sick again! That ulcer went away, didn't it?? Must suck, not being able to eat certain foods…" Chouji, munching on one of the snacks he had hidden in his desk drawer, whom was also getting up and going into the staff room for some of the doughnuts set out by the coffee.

"I want this on my desk by Friday, Neji. I need to know which subjects are of more use to women these days! Oh, hey Aburame. You must be late…" TenTen, whom was arguing with Neji–the poller–about his refusal to poll buyers on their favorite columns TenTen was a part of.

"I only poll buyers of the _Love Quarterly for Men_, TenTen. If you want to poll buyers on _your_ advice column, you'll have to go ask that trans Haku in your women's department. Oh, Shino. Mr. Jiraiya wants to see you in his office…" Neji, the poller, who had only taken up this job until his cousin lost her cool with the family business and begged him to take over for her. So far, the chances of that happening were looking slim-to-none.

"Oh, you piece of shit, Neji! Haku is just as much of a woman as I am! Just because she wasn't born with the same outsides as her insides–"

"He's a _man_ and you know it. Jesus, he only got the surgery two months ago! His dick was snipped; that's not a woman: that's a man with identity _confusion_!"

"Ugh, you're such a pig sometimes!"

He sighed, running his hand through his hair. These were the people he most often spoke with…

_**Ino:**__ Only at work–any time I'm invited out with a few members of the staff, I avoid going if she's going to be there. It's safe to say my four-week-long relationship with her severely damaged any sort of friendly means of communication we'll end up having._

_**Shikamaru Nara:**__ This guy has a work complex, but he's a pretty nice guy–probably one of the only people I can stand in the office. There isn't much to say on him, except for the fact that he and Chouji are _always_ together. They even live together. Sometimes I have a feeling those two are more than just childhood friends…_

_**Karin:**__ The psycho that broke up with me and won't stop calling even after she told me it was over between us. She is the only one I actually go to dinner with on a regular basis…of course, it have to be as a group now.  
_

**S**_**asuke Uchiha:**__ I only speak to him when absolutely necessary; and even when Sasuke says a word to me, I ignore the dick; there's just something about him I don't like–he's always trying to be the best at everything and nothing at all._

_**Chouji Akimichi:**__ The eater of the office. Any leftover doughnuts at the end of the week? Give them to Chouji! He's almost always willing to go out eating someplace. It's a well-known fact that he and Shikamaru had been friends since grade school, but how they managed to both end up at the same company an entire city away from where they grew up is anyone's guess. I have a feeling Chouji has a problem with meeting new people, and so he followed Shikamaru over here. Of course, it could just as easily be the other way around._

_**TenTen:**__ Everything about her is difficult. In general, the only one she actually gets along with to any degree is Neji Hyuuga. People ask her to come eat with them all the time, but she always refuses. She's a lot like me–a complete recluse and too involved with work than she should be._

_**Neji Hyuuga:**__ I don't really like talking to him much. At one point I thought he was a recluse, too…until I learned he was big on the club scene. He's usually up at all hours of the night, even into the wee hours of the morning… Not to mention he also has a severe cousin complex. The man is always on the phone during work hours, arguing with his uncle rather than polling buyers. I swear he's got something against Hinata, his cousin._

_**Suigetsu Houzuki:**__ Suigetsu doesn't work here anymore, apparently, though I'm sort of glad for that. Suigetsu always creeped me out–the man wore his hair long, for crying out loud! Not to mention he lives with Karin and some freak named Juugo who works at the post office downtown. Sasuke goes out with Suigetsu and Juugo more than anyone. There are rumors going around about those two being business partners with Sasuke when he finally gets his business off the ground and quits the company–which I hope to God is soon, soon, soon._

_Regardless, as fond as I am of some of them, I can't deny the fact that my relationship with them all is superficial at best. All except for Ino, whom I'd slept with at least twice during the four weeks we were dating. Maybe that's why we were always so irritable around each other… Hell, if I slept with Sasuke, maybe the bastard would stop talking to me completely! I could only hope…_

At any length, he walked into Jiraiya's office to see a very mussed brunette sitting in the chair. Jiraiya stood up, jumping to the door. "Mr. Aburame! It's nice to see you here…finally! I want you to show our newest member of the company around!"

Shino stared him in the eye, his jaw dropping. "Why _me_? Kakashi's been working at this company twice as long as I have!"

"Yes, but he's never been an hour late, has he? Besides, he's off for a week to go to his daughter's wedding."

As he groaned, he looked over at the man finally. The man was turned towards him, staring at Shino with wide eyes. He was… He was… He was _Kiba Inuzuka_!

A wide grin split across his face, and he bounced up, shaking the taller man's hand roughly. "You've gotta be shittin' me! Shino! We meet again, buddy!"

He smiled a little, trying to be as happy for this reunion as the other. "Uh…so we do…" Buddy? He'd only spoken to him once and it was a ten minute conversation at most… This guy sure did make friends easily…


	4. There's No Baked Alaska Here!

_Ba bah baba bah._

_Not much to say on this chapter either. Except for the fact that I'm playing 80's music up the wazoo while writing this. That and various other bands that no one ever cares about._

_Currently: Huey Lewis and the News; Bob George and Culture Club; Rick Astley; Asia; Depeche Mode; Duran Duran; The Bangles; Peter Gabriel; Peter Townshend; Rick Springfield; A-Ha; OMD; Oingo Boingo; Poison. To name a few of the 80's shit.  
(By the way: Badlands by Bruce Springsteen. BEST EVER.)_

_Band of Horses; Emilie Simon; Andrew W.K.; The Misfits; The Polyphonic Spree; and most of the Stranger Than Fiction soundtrack._

_I could go on and on about music. Doesn't matter–the bands I love talking about the most are Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Cure. Oh! And Architecture in Helsinki and Tea Party. If you've read any of my other fics, you'll discover that most of my author's notes consist of me talking about music or movies. Music, mostly. Every so often I'll come up with a witty anecdote from childhood. Hopefully none of you will be witness to those. I tend to rant about my psychological problems, too. Oops. No one wants to hear how much of an OCD freak with spastic views on religion and the state of the world in general I am._

_Enjoy this chapter. I didn't know how to start it._

_There is one little detail I wanted to add in, but it didn't contribute to the piece at all so I left it out. I added Tsunade, but not Orochimaru. Orochimaru makes and distributes medical equipment and supplies. Kabuto is the corporate suck-up under him, and Orochimaru's health products are always competing with Tsunade's…much to her dislike. Of course, his are much more medical based than hers. Hers count as over-the-counter shit, because they're mostly creams and stuff. Orochimaru's are actual stuff sold to hospitals and all that._

_I also added in Itachi's business. The one Sasuke wants to be better at. Hope everyone likes it. :D I find it funny, but the joke might not actually be well-known outside of the Shippuden series. Maybe it is. I didn't really watch the first part of Naruto._

_Speaking of where they end up eating lunch, I was inspired by when my mother would take me to work with her as a kid. She worked in Las Colinas, by a little river (it's in Texas, just so you know) where they had tour rides and stuff. When we'd go to lunch, she'd take us to this really small shop nestled between two skyscrapers and a food district that sold sub sandwiches and salads and really awesome baked potatoes. To get there we had to cross the river, and it was really neat. They had fountains and everything. And the food was so good. It wasn't Subway or Boston market or anything; it was much more upscale._

_Speaking of Las Colinas, I have a feeling the backdrop for this story has a more New York-Las Colinas feel to it. New York, in the apartments and stuff, but Las Colinas as the industrial district._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene Four_

"Oh, it seems you two know each other! Well, that should make it easier for you, Shino. Now get out of my office. I'm expecting someone."

Shino glared, but left regardless. Kiba followed him, and as they left, a blond woman with large breasts went into his office. Kiba watched her with mild interest before turning back to his guide. "Who was that? I heard the boss was a bit of a pervert…but is she a call girl? At this hour of the day?"

Shino sighed, stepping through the cubicles. "To answer your question, that's Tsunade. She owns a company that sells health and beauty products. Ads for her products wind up in our magazines all the time. She and Jiraiya went to the same business school, so it was fairly easy for her to endorse the magazine's publication in return for ads a plenty. I'm pretty sure she's here for one of her new cologne's ads that wound up in the _Love Quarterly for Men_. I'm sure any woman reading it would be outraged. It has a nude woman only covered by a few sheer layers of satin on it. She probably wanted to rework the ad or have it removed from further issues."

Kiba shrugged. "I don't see how that would sell _cologne_…"

Shino smiled a little, unable to get that punch line out of his head. "Oh, trust me. It sells to the right kind of men… Now, what division were you working in? Editing? Polling? Since you took over Suigetsu's job, it's probably the same as mine…right?"

"Wh-What's yours?"

"Subscriptions and sales, pretty much. Every once in a while you'll get a document on your desk about the amount of magazines in print, but that's very rarely. Stuff like that is usually handled by the shipping department anyway. Those only get put on your desk if they directly relate to subscriptions. Should I explain the magazine a bit more?"

The shorter man gave a little groan. "It sounds boring…but I _would_ like to know about people at the office!"

He sighed, looking over the chaos at the few people he knew. "You know…you're here to work…not make friends… Besides, eventually they'll take interest in you and want to invite you out to dinner sometime, so you can meet them then…"

"You're not a sociable guy, are you?"

"Not in the least. Now come on. You've got the cubicle right across from mine. I'm sure Jiraiya's shown you that much, right?"

He started for the room outside the little hallway, but found Kiba was just staring at him, not moving. He walked back over, sighing. "Oh, that's right. I forgot about the break room and the restrooms. Here, let me show you where those are." He grabbed Kiba's arm, but Kiba ripped it away, stuttering a little.

"Y-You know…I think I'd like to just…er…" He dashed for the bathroom, which was right across the boss's room. Shino followed him, unsure if Kiba was alright. He was half-right.

He heard the sound of puking from one of the stalls and walked over, finding Kiba leaning over the toilet, face red and sweaty, his breathing coming out in shallow pants. He wiped at his mouth, and Shino sighed. "You know, it's alright to be nervous. After I got a job here, I developed an ulcer."

Kiba stood shakily, glancing over at him. "An ulcer? Really? You were _that_ stressed out?"

"Well…actually, it was about four months ago. But it's gone down a little. I had to change my diet for a while, but the doctor says I should be able to eat more of the foods I want to, now…" He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "I tend to obsess over work a bit too much. If you're looking for me to introduce you to some of the workers here, I barely know any…and none of them I actually have are anything more than superficial…"

Kiba went over to the sink, washing up. "Well…you seem to have no problem talking to people…" He straightened and turned the faucet off, smiling a little. "I'm sure if you tried harder, you'd make tons of friends!"

Shino stared at him for a moment before eyeing how sloppy he looked now. It was starting to bug him. He reached out, grabbing the tie and straightening it out. Kiba let him, and soon he had smoothed out the suit-jacket as best as he could. "I just have no interest in making friends, Kiba. I came here to work, not to socialize."

Kiba just smiled as Shino turned and left the restroom. He followed the taller man like a puppy, feeling much more at ease about his job than before. "Oh, hey Shino, buddy! My shoes are nice, right?"

"I don't really care much about personal appearances, Kiba." He mumbled, without even turning around to face him. He walked out to the cubicles and Kiba followed, smirking now. Didn't care about personal appearances? Riiight. Oh, he'd get through to Shino. Shino just needed some time to warm up to him. And after that, he'd be making friends in no time!

––––––––––––––––––

Around lunch time, Kiba peeked over the cubicle at his new friend. "Hey, Shino! It's almost lunch time! You want to go eat somewhere, buddy?"

Shino grumbled. "If you want to go somewhere else and eat, find someone else. I usually eat here…"

Over from the cubicle to his left, he heard a snicker. "Eat what? You hardly ever eat during lunch break. At least…I haven't ever seen you eat."

He grumbled again, standing up finally and leaning over to Shikamaru's cubicle. "Oh yeah? I'll have you know I eat plenty."

Shikamaru looked up at him, and Shino could see he was playing a game of Solitaire as if it were some big championship-winning game. It wasn't, and the red veins in Shikamaru's eyes clearly told him the man needed a break from the computer. Either that or rehab. He was betting on a break, though. There was a small smile playing on Shikamaru's lips. "Why don't you come eat lunch with Chouji and I for once? Bring your new _buddy_–" He nearly squirmed as Shikamaru repeated it with the exact same enthusiasm as Kiba said it. Just because Kiba considered him a friend, it didn't mean he felt the same. "–to lunch with you. It'd be nice to have you there for a change."

Shino glanced over at Kiba, who seemed to like the idea very much, and then back at Shikamaru, who looked bored out of his skull and antsy for some sort of change in his workly routine. "Well…" He cursed mentally, wondering what Shikamaru was planning. He almost never asked him out to lunch.

"Ino won't be there."

"Deal."

–––––––––––––––––––

He hadn't counted on Sasuke and Neji to come along. But they did, and Shino had a sinking feeling it wouldn't end well. Chouji had come, as had Shikamaru, but he knew they would be there. He could _stand_ them being there.

They were at a little sub shop called Baked Alaska, for whatever effed up reason. He figured it had something to do with the fact that they also sold really good desserts, but there wasn't any Baked Alaska on the menu anywhere… Hardly anyone went to this shop, since it was out of the way and took forever to get to, so the place was practically empty. Apparently, this was Shikamaru's favorite place to eat lunch.

Everyone had ordered something different, except for Shikamaru and Chouji…but that was no surprise. They both ordered chips on the side of their turkey subs, except Shikamaru wound up giving his chips to his best friend. Sasuke had ordered a salad, and Neji had ordered a simple cup of soup. Of course, everything was expensive.

Kiba didn't seem to mind, as he ordered practically everything on the menu that had even trace amounts of meat on it. And to everyone's surprise–he was actually _eating_ all of it.

Shikamaru glanced over at Chouji, smiling a little. "He eats more than you, Chou."

Chouji just eyed Kiba, the distinct look of jealousy on his face. He leaned over, looking over the new man. "You have a fast metabolism? You're still in pretty good shape after all of that…" He looked down at his own gut, sighing sadly. Shikamaru just laughed, patting Chouji on the back.

"You're fine the weight you are, Chou."

Neji took a sip of his soup. "Alright, introductions. I'm not eating lunch with someone I've never met before. What's your name? It's Inuzuka, right?" His eyes were narrowed, and Kiba looked up at him from a roast beef sandwich.

"Yeah. It's Kiba. Who're you?"

"Neji Hyuuga." He smiled a little, hoping Kiba would recognize the name. "You may have heard of me…"

"Nope. Never."

Everyone at the table minus Sasuke–who was busy with his organizer, though he hardly ever laughed anyway–and Neji–who was the butt of the joke–started to laugh. Neji's cheeks flared and he straightened up a bit. "Neji _Hyuuga_. **Hyuuga…** Isn't that familiar?"

Kiba stared at him, his face clearly showing he'd never heard of the name before. Shikamaru leaned over, coughing a little. "Hyuuga. As in, the famed stock-brokers. They're famous for buying and selling stocks for clients and being damn good with their investments… Neji's related to the family, but he's only the cousin of the heir, so he doesn't get a cut from the profits gained."

Neji glared, huffing and refusing to speak the rest of the time. Everyone ignored him, and Shikamaru held his hand out over the table, toward Kiba. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. My family's not important at all. Not like Neji's. My father is a Park Ranger, see. We lived in a small town by the park. It's nice to meet you."

Chouji held out his hand next. "Chouji Akimichi. Same as Shikamaru. Though, my parents ran a diner in town."

Kiba squinted his eyes at the two, shaking Chouji's hand. "Haven't I seen you two before? Maybe I saw you at a club downtown or something…"

They both looked at each other before looking back at him. "Uh…maybe?" They both said in unison. Kiba shrugged his shoulders, soon forgetting it, and turned to Sasuke, waiting.

Sasuke never did a thing except mess with his organizer The larger one–Chouji–just sighed and leaned back in his chair. "That would be Sasuke Uchiha. He's not the friendliest of fellows, but he does get out…unlike Shino." Everyone looked over at Shino, except for Sasuke and Kiba.

Kiba's face brightened when he realized why Sasuke's name was so familiar. "Oh! Uchiha Eyewear! That's the brand of glasses my sister's always buying! She buys a new pair every week. She's got to be fashionable at work. She never buys actual glasses, just the ones for show. At the house, however, she wears reading glasses when she needs to read finer print."

Sasuke finally came out of his shell, leaning over the table and stowing his organizer away. He stared Kiba directly in the eye. "Wait, she buys glasses that aren't prescription? How does that work exactly?"

Kiba shrugged. "Well, she just asks for non-prescription lenses for the frames when she buys them. They do it all the time over at Uchiha Eyewear. Why…? Are you not affiliated in that company?"

Sasuke glared menacingly, taking a vicious bite of his salad and leaning back. "No. That's my brother's company." He changed the subject quickly. "So, your sister buys a new pair each week?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah. And she says a lot of the women she works with do it, too. She works a law firm, and since appearance is everything, she buys glasses to make people think she's smarter."

Sasuke's eyes widened, and he stood up. "Just a moment. I need to go make a phone call…" As he left the shop, they could swear they saw a bright smile on his face, like he'd just gotten an idea.

Kiba looked at the others, confused, and Neji stood. "He's trying to make a company better than his brother's. I don't know how he'll accomplish that if he keeps looking at eyewear. Contacts are much more popular these days. If he found a way to market cheap contacts with different styles to teenagers, he'd make it rich. Well, I need to get going now. I have a full work load for the week, and I'd like to get TenTen's request out of the way. It was nice meeting you, Inuzuka." He left promptly, making sure to throw his trash away. He threw away Sasuke's half-eaten salad away as well–everyone who had known him for any length of time knew he wouldn't be returning.

That just left Shino, Kiba, Chouji, and Shikamaru. Shikamaru finally finished his meal, finishing off the last drink of water in the bottle he'd bought. "So, Kiba…how old are you? You look fairly young…"

Kiba scarfed down the rest of his meal, getting sauce and crumbs all over his mouth and suit. "Oh, I'm twenty-nine. My birthday's actually coming up soon. It's July 7th."

Chouji's eyes perked. "Oh? You were born in 1979, then? Oh wow, you're older than Shikamaru by a month." He glanced over at Shikamaru, a grin making its way to his face. "Remember way back when, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru chuckled. "Of course! How could I forget the eighties? Remember that Rubix cube I found lying on the ground?" He turned to Kiba, laughing. "People were tossing them out of their windows it was so frustrating! But I solved it in a week, at _five_."

Chouji snickered. "I'll never forget that one girl that had that weird obsession with you, though. She looked _just_ like one of the Chipettes!"

"Oh, yeah! She looked like the chubby one. Leave it to you to remember a girl like that, Chouji. I remember you had a run-in of your own with a girl that made herself up to look like Posh Spice after you got into high school. She was really weird, though. For some odd reason she liked the…er…_bigger_ guys at school…"

Kiba grinned, getting into it. "I was such a big fan of the Pound Puppies cartoons when I was real little… And all through my pre-teen and teen years, I was a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Oh! Does anyone remember the Mortal Kombat games?"

"I was a bigger fan of Power Rangers and Street Fighter, myself. The nineties were just as cheesed up as the eighties, though it got a bit more tame closer to the new millennium. Does anyone remember the big NSYNC phase?" Shino smirked.

Everyone looked over at Shino, and as his cheeks went pink, Shikamaru snickered. "Don't tell me you listened to the NSYNC, Shino… That's almost gayer than…well…_them_."

Chouji laughed. "That's easy for you to say, Shikamaru. You listen to Justin Timberlake. And I remember you were quite a fan of the NSYNC in high school. You even dragged me to one of their concerts, remember?"

Shikamaru went red, laughing a little. "Yeah… You're right, Chou. I've got no room to talk… And I'd rather forget that part of my life." He laughed a little. "I was a bit of a ruffian back when I was younger. At least, during my teenage years. I was going through a lot since my favorite teacher died, so I acted out a little. I took up smoking, went to parties, shrugged off my school duties." He glanced over at Chouji again. "Of course, Chou helped me out of that." He smiled, turning back to Kiba.

"So, Kiba. Tell me about yourself."

Kiba laughed. "Well, er…I've been living with my sister ever since I graduated from college."

Shino turned to him, narrowing his eyes. What did Kiba have to hide from these guys? He was sure he'd been disowned after his dad found out he was gay…but did Kiba really need to lie around Shikamaru and Chouji? Those two were the closest to a gay couple he'd ever seen around the office, for crying out loud! And even if they weren't gay themselves, he was pretty sure they'd be able to keep a secret like that!

And that's when he noticed how messy Kiba was.

He started to actually sweat, looking at all those crumbs littering Kiba's suit, the sauce smeared all over his face. How were Shikamaru and Chouji ignoring all of that!? Surely they noticed! Throwing caution to the wind, he grabbed a napkin and leaned over, cutting Kiba off mid-sentence.

His workmates stared at them, exchanging puzzled looks, as Kiba turned to Shino with the most comical expression on his face. It was like a mix between surprise and horror all at once. He scrubbed at Kiba's face, finally turning the napkin over and licking it, making sure to give him a good spit-shine.

He then got to work on the suit, brushing off the crumbs and straightening the tie.

When he was done, he went back to his own food, picking at the sub sandwich. Shikamaru made a soft noise like he was going to say something, but it never came. The entire restaurant felt completely silent, and Shino started to find he was having a hard time breathing. It was like the air had been cut off in the building, but the others were breathing just fine.

It was Chouji who finally spoke. "Oh," was all he said.

Shino glanced over at him, to see their eyes on Kiba, not him. He turned to look at Kiba, who had turned bright red. His eyes were wide, and he was still staring at him. Shino's eyes narrowed, and his lips curled up with discomfort. He'd done something wrong, hadn't he?

Finally, after what felt like forever, Kiba stood, going into the restroom.

Shino looked at the two in front of him, finally speaking. "Don't tell me you weren't itching to get rid of all of that. It was _everywhere_. How could you both just _ignore_ it?"

Shikamaru smiled a little, fighting laughter, and he shook his head. Chouji spoke his best friend's thoughts. "We did, Shino. But it just wasn't the right time to do anything about it. And even when we'd bring it to his attention, we would've just told him he had some food on his face… He could've handled it himself."

Shikamaru started to laugh uncontrollably, until finally Chouji hit him on the back of the head and he shut up. He looked over at Chouji and then back at Shino. "You probably embarrassed him. He's twenty-nine, and you were treating him like a child. Sure you've been at the company longer than him, but he's practically the same age as you, right?" He looked over at Chouji, nudging his friend. "Although with eating habits like that, I'd wonder, too…" The two shared a chuckle, and Shino put his face in his hands, feeling like shit.

Yet another reason why he didn't have friends–he was terrible at interacting with people.

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba ran his hands under the water, collecting some water in them and splashing it onto his face. He loosened his tie and took a deep breath. "Why are you getting worked up over this, Kiba?" He muttered to himself, wishing Akamaru was there to talk to. He'd have to talk to himself, instead.

He took a step toward one of the stalls, finally feeling something like anger well up in him. He took a swing with all his might, on the verge of screaming. Instead of stopping, he just continued until he'd nearly knocked the stall door off its hinges.

"Shit. He already knows I'm lying! If I'd known I'd see him again and ended up _working_ with him, I never would've told him I was disowned by my father! Now, after that little incident, he probably figured it all out! Shit, shit, shit!" He panted, feeling just slightly better after his outburst. For what seemed like an hour, he was absolutely still, trying to steady his insides from bursting forth again.

The door handle turned, and he panicked, jumped back toward the urinals, trying to make it look like he was taking a piss.

"Kiba?"

Double shit! Shit with a side of shit; it was Shino again!

"Oh. Sorry. I should probably leave. I didn't know…"

Kiba sighed, turning around. He was a bit amused by how Shino quickly turned his face, assuming he really _had_ been taking a piss and was indecent. "It's alright. I'm done anyway."

Shino turned back to him, his cheeks turning slightly pink. "I shouldn't have done that. I was probably treating you like a child… I just…" He was twisting his fingers together anxiously. "I have this obsession with order, and it bugs me to see a mess like…well…like on _you_. So–" He noticed the faucet still running and went over, twisting the water off. "So…"

Kiba watched him, starting to feel something happen to him. He snickered, eyeing how Shino had to turn the faucet off, and his face collapsed. "Pfffft… I think I see that obsession pretty easily, Shino!" He started to laugh, and Shino finally gave a small smile.

"Well, we need to leave now if we want to get back to work on time, and Shikamaru and Chouji refuse to leave without us…"

Kiba laughed, walking towards the entrance. When he reached Shino, he patted him on the shoulder, grinning through small chuckles. "You're a weird guy, Shino…but I think it's going to be easy getting along with you." He looked him in the eye, his tone turning serious. "But I still think you should finally make friends with those two out there. They seem nice."

And then he left. Shino watched him go, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "Tch. Dumb guy. I don't even want to be _his_ friend. Why is he giving me _that_ speech?"

* * *

_Oh yeah. Shikamaru listens to 'NSYNC. He's such a badass ruffian. Heh heh. I had fun with that._


	5. Hey, Buuuddy!

_This one centers around Karin and Suigetsu and TenTen and Shino. But don't worry–it will add up to some KibaShino luvins._

_Oh! And because Kakashi might not make a prime appearance, here's his back story: He's a forty-something-breaching-fifty salary man who commutes to the city for his job. He's pretty good friends with Jiraiya and is always eager to work with him on new angles the magazine can take, and the ads that show up, the articles that show up and the like. Despite the fact that he's worked there since the magazine was first published, he refuses to take an executive position in order to have more time to spend with his family, due to his wife's death during the birth of his son. His daughter is actually 23 and getting married, and his younger son is in middle school. Since he's so close with Jiraiya, Jiraiya's worked out a deal with him to make sure he gets the afternoons off to help pick up his son from school and all. Though, this means his pay check is a little bit smaller than most people's. Kakashi gets by, though, since his daughter's husband is doing pretty well for himself. (Her husband's actually a big corporate executive. I might just make him Kabuto. Just for shits and giggles.)_

_Sigh. I can't believe I haven't listened to Depeche Mode in two months. I'm just now remembering why I like them so much, now that their songs are popping up on my playlist._

_Anyone see that commercial for those health bars that supposedly give you energy? You know, the one where those guys are walking into the backyard, talking about how their friend Steve takes a nap in the afternoons and the Addicted to Love girls come and try to make him into one of them? And then, the guys find the Addicted to Love girls putting lipstick on Steve, and when they see the two guys, they just take to the skies and fly away?_

_I mention this because the song just came on. Ha ha. That's my favorite commercial. Oh, Robert Palmer. Your Addicted to Love girls are so evil…_

_Oh dear. I made Haku into a woman circa Chapter 3. I feel so…happy. xD He makes a better woman, though, doesn't he? Followers of the gay would probably disagree with me. But I think he'd make a nice woman. And I needed at least one transsexual in this fic to even out the playing field. Not to mention I don't really feel like writing Zabuza into this–as much as I like him–and you can't have boy!Haku without Zabuza and the gay in tow._

_This chapter was a PAIN. And it sucks ASS. I didn't mean to make TenTen nearly as unbalanced as she sounds. She was just supposed to have tons of problems being out in public and getting to know people, but she wound up sounding even more unbalanced than Karin. UGH. I might fix it in later chapters, but right now, I could care less. I think she's fairly unbalanced enough for someone whose medicine has stopped working. And when I say medication, I mean stuff like Prozac._

_Suigetsu uses dirty language in this. (As in, the f-word.) Head's up!_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 5_

Karin put her earrings in, admiring them in the mirror. They were brand new–and they matched her new glasses, to boot! She was so pleased with how the gold was working with her hair. She stood, pulling on the satin black dress that clung to her figure and showed off her curves in just the right places, leaving nothing to the imagination.

She put her hair up into a loose bun, playing with a few locks of hair to make them fall over her face in such a way that made it look like they naturally fell like that. After that came the deep red lipstick and the skinny stiletto pumps.

Suigetsu walked into the room, not knocking, and took one look at her before promptly gagging. She shot him a dirty look, her eyes suggesting she was threatening to blow, and Suigetsu leaned against the doorframe, looking slightly bored.

"Where are you off to? Another date with Sasuke?"

She laughed, powdering her nose again for good measure. "Of _course_ not. I take my glasses off when I'm on a date with Sasuke… I'm actually going out to eat with a few co-workers, since it's finally Friday and all…"

Suigetsu bit his lip, his sharper-than-average teeth threatening to draw blood. "Wh-Who's going to be there? I'd love to catch up…"

She laughed, standing and giving him a cold look. "Like you have jack shit to catch up with. You don't work there anymore. _Remember?_" She raised her face, staring down her nose at him. "Why aren't you looking for work…?" And suddenly, without warning, she blew up. "You still haven't found a job, but that's to be expected, right!? Instead, all you do is sit around eating _all_ the ice cream in the fridge and using up _all_ the good ice in the ice tray so that poor Juugo has to go out to some blasted gas station half-way across the city just to buy a few bags! The rent's due at the end of the month, you piece of shit! Your piece of it better be in my hands by then or me and Juugo are kicking you _out_! It's unhealthy to Juugo's fragile mental state to put up with a dead-weight like you! You know what his shrink–"

"Oh, blah blah _blah_, bitch! Tell someone who cares!" He narrowed his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm a blessing for the big guy! I'm the only thing keeping _you_ from bitching at him day and night! I'd hate to think what would happen to _you_ if you finally made him angry enough one of these days! He already got kicked out of the precinct because he shot first too many times! That man deals with too much shit on a daily basis to take anymore from you! And now he works in a _post office_! I'd hate to think he'd whip out a glock and pop a cap in everyone's ass down there one of these days!"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you!? You'd stop getting hate mail from your parents and letters from that sister of yours that keeps threatening to drop her kid off with you and leave with her boyfriend! Yeah, like–"

"This isn't about me! Those 'co-workers' of yours are my _friends_! I'd like to see them, damn it! Now, I'm going to eat with you whether you like it or not! Even if I have to follow you there and get my own table, I'm going to be there, damn it!"

"I bet you will! The reservations are already booked clear through August! Why do you think I'm wearing such nice clothes to a dinner date with co-workers!? I'll bet you've never been to a restaurant that required a black suit and tie, Suigetsu! Maybe if you cut your hair more often you wouldn't have gotten fired! You can carry lice in hair like that!"

Suigetsu steamed, slamming the door behind him as he left the room. "I'll be there! Like _hell_ I'll stay at home and wait for you to come home after eating with _my_ friends, woman! You can bet your tight little psycho _ass_ I'll be there!" And that was the end of that argument.

Juugo wound up walking into the apartment, exhausted and looking like he wanted nothing more than to go straight to sleep.

––––––––––––––––

She smiled, stepping out of the taxi and walking over to the two men standing by the restaurant. "Oh! Shino, darling!" She went up, giving the taller man a quick kiss on the cheek, but he just glared at her. She, however, ignored it and turned to Kiba. "Poor guy hasn't been able to get over me. He still makes time to come out to eat with _me_…" She fluttered her eyelashes at her ex, and Shino squinted his eyes, laughing a little with a look on his face that clearly said, "You wish".

Kiba glanced at Shino, his mouth opening to say something, until a light voice called out to them. "Karin! It's so lovely to see you! I haven't had a real meal with you in ages!"

"Oh, great," Shino mumbled, and tried to look invisible.

Ino hurried up, waving at them. She was wearing something that looked exactly the same, except much less slutty. "Guess who I managed to convince to come??" Karin looked at her, her eyebrows raised in silent question. "TenTen! You said you needed one more spots for the reservation to fill in for Neji, that idiot, and TenTen said she was free at the time. Besides, she wanted to meet with the new guy."

The four both turned to see TenTen walking toward them, her hair down and framing her face, her dress all neat and crisp–it looked brand new or rarely worn. "Hello…" She flushed pink, glancing down at the ground. Shino had to smile at that–she was twice as awkward out of the office as he was. That meant she got out less than him.

Kiba gave her a bright smile. "It's good to meet you, TenTen!" He extended out his hand to her, and she took it shakily, giving him a curt nod.

Ino turned to Shino, smiling mildly. "Well…Karin never told me _you'd_ be here, Shino…" She turned to Karin, giving her a wry smile. "You want me to get back with him, don't you?"

Karin returned the gesture with an all-too-innocent smile on her face, her eyes wide. "Oh, of course not, Ino, dear! I definitely don't want to try and get you back together! After all, that won't leave any competition for Sasuke's heart, will it??"

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Not that I'm one to gossip, but have any of you heard that Sasuke's applying for an internship over at Orochimaru's company? He's doing it to get more acquainted with machinery. He may even try for a partnership with the bastard, so he can screw him over later and steal his company to make it over into an optometry clinic…"

Karin and Ino both gasped, both getting worked up and screaming in unison. "Sasuke would never do something as underhanded as that!"

TenTen shrugged, glancing back at the ground and turning slightly more red. Shino stared at her for a moment, until Kiba tapped him on the shoulder. He looked over at the shorter man, and Kiba hissed into his ear.

"Who's Orochimaru?"

Shino sighed. "Orochimaru makes medical supplies for hospitals and private clients–you know, the type of people that have enough money to have their own medical equipment at home. He's nothing special, though. I could care less about him."

Ino gasped. "I hear he even has a pet anaconda! How wild is _that_??"

Karin crossed her arms over her shoulder. "Shino's right about him being nothing special. Me and Suigetsu used to work for him before we applied for an internship with Love Quarterly. And that Kabuto is a total suck-up. Sure the bastard knew what he was talking about, but whatever Orochimaru said, Kabuto backed up. Even if it resulted in a total melt-down at one point. Many people were laid off to save the company. Me and Suigetsu were some of the unlucky ones… Oh, and that whole anaconda rumor? It's just a snake-skin on the wall of his office."

Ino smirked. "Why were you in his office? You weren't _sucking up_ for a promotion, were you?"

Karin gave her a "ha ha, very funny" look and stuck her nose in the air. "Of course not." She turned to Kiba. "You're lucky you never tried to work there. I don't even know how he gets people wanting to apply for jobs. They must be pretty desperate–the pay was terrible, and I had to live with my parents the entire time I worked there."

She smiled, waving a hand in the air. "Last time I checked we had a reservation! Why don't we discuss the rest over dinner, shall we?"

Ino gave her a nasty look. "With _pleasure_, Karin."

––––––––––––––––––

For a place that was supposed to serve _food_, as in _meals_, the men were sorely disappointed. They could've gone to some cheap gumbo place at the edge of town and gotten more food than the crap they were paying twice as much for. Shino picked at his plate, poking a fork at the small herb leaf of unknown origin. It stuck, and he brought it up to stare at it with inspection.

Kiba had picked out the meat in his meal and eaten it, leaving whatever that white stuff was sprinkled over the top–he bet money on it being tofu–and the vegetables where they were. Most of his dish was vegetables, and he was starting to feel hungry.

Ino and Karin were gossiping over certain things at the office, when Ino leaned over to table toward Kiba and spoke. "Kiba, have you heard of that club called Ice about four blocks from here?"

Kiba stared at her, his eyes widening, his jaw dropping. Ino laughed. "It's not like I think you go there or anything." Kiba relaxed. "But what do you think about Karin hanging out there? She just said she goes there often. Don't you find that _odd_?? A woman going to a club for gay men??"

Karin snorted. "Just because gay men frequent it, it doesn't mean it's a gay club. I'll have you know many women go there, Ino. For the same reason I do: all that hot ass shaking on the dance floor, damn it!"

TenTen put her silverware down and stuttered. "K-K-Karin! Some people are trying to _eat_ here!"

Karin stood. "Shino agrees with me, don't you, babe??"

Everyone turned to Shino, and Shino just stared at her. "What. N-No! I agree the club isn't necessarily _for_ gay men! Sure, gay men use it as a hang out, but I remember when it first got its start and gay men were pretty scarce to see there. It wasn't until Sasuke's brother started to frequent it that it became popular for gay men. The club was nice, though. Of course, not I can't even walk by it without getting hit on, but the club is still nice. Hopefully they still serve as nice drinks as they used to."

Ino gave him a look, sitting back in her chair. "You never used to drink when we were together…"

Shino looked at her, a pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Oh, you're right. I wonder why I took it up?"

She just glared at him, and Kiba stared at the girls. "Wow. Wait, so did you all date Shino at one point?"

Ino gave a very disgruntled "Yes." And Karin just giggled, waving her hand at the shorter of the two. "Of course! And he still has yet to get over me, of course. And who wouldn't? I'm quite a catch…"

Shino muttered a quiet, "The only catch you are is a disease."

Ino heard it and stifled a laugh, though Karin was too busy fluttering her eyelashes at Kiba to take any notice. Kiba gave a disgusted look, his face turning a slight shade of green. "I'm not interested in women like you…" He turned to TenTen. "You've barely said anything all night, TenTen. Is something wrong?"

TenTen shook her head nervously, taking a big gulp of her wine and nearly coughing. "N-No. I'm fine. I'm just not used to being in places as packed as this, is all."

Shino hummed. "The office is more packed than this place. We got a pretty nice secluded spot for our table."

She nodded her head absentmindedly, and Kiba turned back to his buddy. "No offense, Shino, but what did you see in these women?"

Ino and Karin just gasped, and TenTen nearly choked on the wine she was finishing off like it was the elixir of life. Shino shrugged, ignoring them all. "To be honest, I really have no idea anymore. I thought Ino was pretty at one point, until I realized how fickle she was. I though Karin was smart, until I learned just how psychotic she was and how bad her temper was…"

All three girls stared at him for the longest time, Kiba giving a mental sigh of relief, and finally the conversation trickled off into nothing more than silent eating and an awkward silence. For the longest time, it seemed as no one would speak, until finally TenTen stumbled to her feet, looking slightly tipsy from all the wine she'd been downing. "E-Excuse me. I have to go…wash my hands…"

She stumbled away, nearly tripping into a waiter carrying four plates along his arm, to the bathroom. Ino and Karin suddenly turned to each other, each in a flourish of whispers, gossiping heavily.

"I hear she takes pills."

"A woman like that–I'm not surprised… She seems dreadfully imbalanced. I heard she once nearly tore one of the hinges off one of the stalls in the lady's room back at the office due to stress."

"Poor girl. I should've known it would've been a waste to bring her here. You know, she even _told_ me her pills had run out on Monday and she didn't have enough time to fill her new prescription. I'll bet they wore off by now and she's completely–"

Kiba leaned over the table. "Excuse me, but it's extremely rude to talk about someone the second they've left! I think she's just nervous is all! She'll be fine when she gets back! She said she needed to wash her hands; I think that'll calm her nerves!"

That, however, was not the case. She came back, looking a bit disheveled and worse for wear. Her hair was a mess, and she was breathing a bit heavily. Her hands shook as she poured herself another glass of wine, and Shino leaned over, placing a hand over hers. "TenTen, perhaps you should lay off the wine…"

She ripped her hand away from his, using it to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. She went red slightly, and smiled a little. "I'm fine." She grabbed her glass, taking a big swig of wine, before she went back to her food, poking at it a little.

Karin and Ino both exchanged looks, and Kiba sighed. "You don't look fine…"

She snapped. "Well, I am, alright?"

There was a period of tense silence before Ino and Karin started on a conversation about absolutely nothing in particular. Kiba would say something to Shino every once in a while, but Shino's eyes were fixed on TenTen. As the girls' conversation wore on and on, she started to become even more nervous. Finally, she stood up, trembling all over.

"I…I'm terribly sorry…b-but…I can't do this. I have to get out of here…"

Before Karin could lecture on her on it being in bad form to leave her dinner date with the check for _her_ meal, she dashed out of the restaurant. Shino watched her go before he stood, grabbing two hundred dollars from his wallet and setting it on the table, and left promptly. "Keep the change," he mumbled.

Before either of the two women left could respond, Kiba had taken his leave as well.

––––––––––––––––

Shino found her stumbling down the steps of the restaurant, and he went over, grabbing her arm and helping support her. She struggled, but he managed to keep hold of her. Her eyes turned to him, and he saw her mascara was running. His face fell.

"TenTen, please let me walk you home. You look terrible."

"I don't need anyone to walk me home," She snapped, as she choked back a sob. "I'm fine. I jus– I just get nervous is all… We can't all be like _you_ Shino!" Her voice grew louder and louder until soon she was screaming. "We can't all balance work with our personal lives and take friends out of the equation, can we? Of course not! Just because I have to take medication that stops working the month after I get it, it doesn't make me any less of a person than you! I'm fine! Now let go of me before I get out my can of mace, you bastard!"

He dropped her, and she stumbled off down the street. His eyes widened, and he started to feel something creep up his spine like the building tension in a horror film. He was almost certain that at any moment, she'd go falling into the street and get hit by a car, or a man would run out of the alley and shoot her point blank in the head. It just seemed so–

He went after her. "TenTen."

She turned to him, finally looking somewhat relaxed. She sighed, wiping at her eyes and smudging her make-up. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this, but…but I'm not as confident as I look. Every day I feel more and more pressure building up. Women _count_ on me to be strong, and I'm letting them down. I can feel it."

"No, don't say that. You're doing really well for yourself." He cautioned an arm around her shoulder, and she let him, so he went toward the street, lifting his hand up. "Let me get you a taxi, alright?"

She nodded, and when a taxi pulled up, he helped her into it, dropping off a one-hundred dollar bill with her. She looked up at him, smiled a little. "You're very kind, Shino. Thank you…"

"Promise me one thing, TenTen. Promise me you'll take care of yourself, alright?"

She nodded, and he closed the door. The sinking feeling of dread didn't leave, even as he watched the taxi drive off. He'd always thought she was stronger than that…and at the office everything seemed fine… Had she really been suffering this whole time?

"Shino!"

He spun around to find Kiba staring at him, worried that something was wrong. "I-Is she okay?"

"No. She's not okay…" He glanced back at the street for a moment before turning back to Kiba. "Sorry about all of this. I know you were wanting to meet her…" He turned to leave, but Kiba grabbed his sleeve.

"Are _you_ okay?" Kiba was staring him in the eye, something intense floating around in those dark eyes. Shino stuttered a little, finding himself.

"I'm f-fine. Just a bit shaken is all… She just…didn't seem like the type to have that much trouble with people, you know?" He pulled his sleeve out of Kiba's grip and turned to leave, but stopped when he saw Suigetsu approaching.

Suigetsu took one look at him and walked over, nodding his head a little. "Oi, Shino. You here with a friend?"

Shino glanced at Kiba, turning back to Suigetsu again. "Actually, we were here with some co-workers."

The sharp-toothed man's eyebrows rose. "Karin?"

When Shino nodded, Suigetsu turned his eyes to the shorter man. It was surprising to see someone shorter than him. He knew Shino was taller than most, but he'd always thought of himself as short. This new guy was _shorter than him_. "Who's this?" His eyes narrowed as he looked the man over. "Is this the punk that took my job?"

Before Shino could refute his claim, knowing Suigetsu would get that worked up over it, the shortest man had already grabbed Kiba's collar and glared at him, raising his fist. "What the fuck is your problem, you piece of shit? You think you can just waltz right in and steal _my_ job?"

He made a motion to slam his fist into Kiba's face, but Shino grabbed his fist before it could impact. "Suigetsu, I think it'd be best if you left." His voice was low, threatening. Kiba turned to him, something like worry etched into his face, and Suigetsu dropped the shorter man, turning to his ex-co-worker.

"What the fuck? You think you have the right to tell _me_ what to do?"

Shino didn't back down. "You got fired for looking at porn during office hours instead of working. Kiba works harder than you; he deserves the job. You don't."

"Oh yeah!? Shikamaru plays _chess_ all day! Everyone knows it, too! I thought we were friends, Shino! I worked at that company for almost as long as you! I applied for an internship after I got laid off at that piece of shit medical company! I _deserved_ that job! This asshole doesn't–"

Shino slugged him in the face, grabbing Kiba's arm and storming off. "I was never your friend."

As he walked off, he could hear Suigetsu screaming something about his nose bleeding, but he ignored it. He didn't consider anyone his friend. At least, no one back at the office, and certainly not _Suigetsu_. He hailed a cab, and both he and Kiba got in.

The second the door closed and they were off to Shino's apartment, Kiba turned to him, flustered. "I…I didn't need you to stick up for me like that. I can handle myself, you know. I know how to handle people like that…" He glanced out the window, his face flaring, his heart beating ten million beats a minute. "Y-You didn't have to do that…"

Shino glanced out the window, looking as far away from Kiba as he could—the motion was mutual–, his fingers twisting together anxiously. "…That's what friends do, correct? They stick up for each other…"

Kiba turned to him, his mouth open, his face flushing even deeper red. He gave a small smile, looking back out the window. "Y-Yeah. That's what friends are for."


	6. Is There a Ghost pt1

_I got a review, and it was really well-ordered and polite in how she (Once again, I assume the reader's a she.) critiqued my characterizations of the characters. Those are the types of reviews I like receiving the most. There's nothing better than getting a review some five minutes after I post a chapter and reading it. _

_Most of the time I wonder why I don't get many reviews, and then I realize it's because I don't write about the most popular characters. I've yet to really feel strongly about adding Naruto and Sakura in this story. I usually tend to add Naruto in when Hinata's in the story, but that's only because you can't have Hinata without mention of Naruto. So…no Naruto yet, because I figure Naruto would still be in law school, failing and trying his hardest to become mayor…or something… Woah, yes! I've got a great idea for his role! Ha ha. But it's too soon to be adding that in yet. I still have more gay building up before I add that twist in there. (You all probably have no idea what twist I'm talking about. Only Beth, one of my friends I was talking to about the story to, knows what my plans are with that certain character.)_

_The thing I like best about writing the fics I write isn't the reviews I receive, but, rather, the small amount of loyal fans I wind up picking up along the way. I really only have one person to each story I wind up posting that's wholly absorbed in it and supporting me the whole way, and I really like it like that. I'd pick those few people who review each chapter than thousands any day. Plus, I'm glad I hardly get any messages in my inbox. (Ha ha.)_

_I probably sound pompous. And I apologize. It's just my feelings on the matter._

_Anyway, in this one, I had a hard time figuring out what would happen. More-so than the other chapter. Meh. Whatever._

_Did anyone ever see _Joe's Apartment_? That's all I can think about when writing the first scene. Ha ha. It's oddly fitting, now that I think about it. Though, I don't see Shino's apartment as dingy as that. Just roach-infested. _

_Oh, and sorry this chapter is sho short. Ha ha. Sho Short. Anyway, sorry it's short. I felt it was fine the way it was. Plus, the cliffhanger I had planned for the original length, I wanted to save for the next chapter. I like it just fine the way this chapter plays out. I find it cute._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 6_

Shino stared up at his ceiling, watching a small moth that had flown in buzz around the light flickering on and off. He figured it was due to the faulty wiring in the building, probably due to termites or more cockroaches or something. But…sadly…when their building wound up getting fumigated about a year ago due to major complaints, the bugs all fled to his apartment, and now his apartment was infested with them.

He turned over, looking at the clock. One in the morning. One minute an hour after he spent waiting to fall asleep. He found he couldn't, being too worried about TenTen.

She could've been popping pills desperately right now…or overdosing in her apartment or something. It was driving him crazy! His hand trembled as he reached for the phone. His hand caught something crunchy, and he lifted it in disgust to find a roach squished on his hand. The thought sent a panic through him, and he shot up.

He'd killed one of them!

His father had always taught him to respect bugs like that, spouting off how beneficial they were to society, how helpful they were. And he'd _killed one of them_. He swore, standing up in a panic to go wash his hand of his crime. He reached the bathroom, suppressing the urge to retch as he ran to the sink. He washed the corpse off his hand, finding his breathing soon becoming even again.

He sighed, looking up at the ceiling to see a roach dart from a crack in the corner of the ceiling to the light, disappearing into the circuitry. Sad as it was to say, he'd kind of grown attached to them…as much as he hated how much of a nuisance they'd become. It was almost like they were a part of him.

He sighed, going back to his bed and lying down. He left the covers off, instead opting to give himself a nice belly scratch. He stretched, cricking his neck. He looked at the clock–1:02. He reached for the phone, dialing the number Kiba had given him in the taxi, and the number he'd gotten from the newspaper ad, though he'd never tell Kiba that.

––––––––––––––––

Kiba stared up at the ceiling, listening to Akamaru's steady breathing in the other room. The dog _snored_. It may not've been as amazing as his mother's dog–he could repeat phrases they spoke. By the time he'd reached his final year in college, the dog knew every swear in the English language and would bark them at passing children riding by on their bikes. Last he heard, the dog was taking up German swears.

But, Akamaru was special to him, and that was all he cared about.

He sighed, stretching a little and rolling over, trying to get to sleep. He still couldn't get that out of his head–Shino had called him a friend. A _friend_! He was so happy, and yet sad all at once. Because that was all they'd ever be…

The phone rang, and he shot up, staring at the clock. It was only one in the morning. Who could've been calling at this hour?? He crept into the living room, grabbing for the phone. He picked it up quickly, hoping Hana hadn't heard it and woken up, and placed it by his ear.

"H-Hello?"

"Kiba."

His breathing caught in his throat, and he hissed into the speaker. "Sh-Shino? Why are you calling??"

"Can't sleep. It gets pretty quiet around here…"

Kiba brightened a little. "Oh! Do you want to talk??"

"Not really."

Kiba breathed a little, cautioning a quavering breath. "…It's TenTen…"

"I guess."

"You're worried about her…right? She _was_ pretty upset today. Everyone always said she was stronger than that. I assumed she'd be a lot like my sister, but I was wrong… Eh…Shino?" There was only silence on the other line, and he took that to mean he could ask what was on his mind. "Do you like her? I mean, are you…_interested_ in her?"

"Why, are _you_?" His voice was slightly amused.

"N-No. I was just…wondering." He refused to let Shino know he was worried instead.

"She rejected me."

"O-Oh…" He went over to the couch, splaying out on it and staring up at the ceiling. That didn't really answer his question. Well, it sort of did. It meant he _was_ interested in her…but was he _still_ interested in her? He decided not to push the subject and went silent for a moment.

Silence rang out on the other line, and after a long time he looked up at a clock hanging over the picture of that dog over the television. They'd been on the phone twenty minutes… After a while, his breathing hitched, and he rolled over so he was lounging on his side, the phone resting on his shoulder, against his ear comfortably. "Shino…did you want to talk or something? Because you're not really talking… If you want, I can talk for the both us… I'm sort of used to it by now, and–"

"No." He cut his friend off. "I just wanted some company."

"Oh. So…no talking?"

Silence rang out on the other line, and he took that for a yes. They spent the rest of the night in silence, until finally, around three in the morning, he heard Shino's breathing steady, and he knew the other man had fallen asleep. He decided not to hang up the phone–that would cause a tone and probably wake the man up again–and turned his face to the wall, staring at that portrait of the dog. He sighed.

"Shino's a _lot_ lonelier than he thinks…"

–––––––––––––––

Shino stared at the ceiling, mulling those words over. He'd never really considered himself lonely, but now that he gave some thought to it, this was probably the most comfortable sleepless night he'd had in a long time… Even more comfortable than those nights with Ino, way back when. Then again, Kiba wasn't here or begging him to cuddle, so that probably had something to do with it.

He put his hands over his face and tried his hardest not chuckle. He cleared his throat, speaking into the phone. "Remember when we first met?"

Kiba stuttered over the phone. "Y-Y-Yeah! What about it??"

"You said we should do lunch if we met again. If you're still awake by lunch tomorrow, why don't we go get something to eat? No one else from work. How about that?"

"Yeah! I'd love to! What time should I call??"

After a long silence, Shino finally smiled. "No calling. We stay on the phone. It'll be a contest. How does that sound? First one to fall asleep has to buy lunch. And if we sleep through lunch, it'll be dinner instead."

Kiba blinked, pulling the phone away from his ear and staring at it like he could somehow see Shino by doing that. "Wh-What?" He put it back to his ear. "How do we know who's fallen asleep first?"

"It's not a question of 'who'. I'm an insomniac. Therefore I'll win."

"Ohhhh…" He grinned. "I'm sure I'll give you a run for your money, though, buddy!"

Kiba fell asleep four minutes later. At nine in the morning, Hana woke up, walked to the living room, and placed a blanket over him, completely unaware the phone lines were still connected.


	7. What! They're Straight?

_Guh. I should probably get to typing up that last chapter of _Ten Step Program_…_

_Whatever. I'll finish it after this important step. (Geez, now_I'm_ going on about steps.) Huzzah! Another cliffhanger this chapter! But…huh. I always thought it'd be nice making a yaoi pairing out of Kimimaro and Juugo, until I realized they make much better best-buds. Still…the idea is nice._

_As for Hana, the idea of Split Pea Soup makes me nauseous, but the idea of Split Pea Soup packed with gobs of meat is even less appealing to my picky palate. _

_By the way, if any of you noticed (or really cared) I changed the chapter title of the last chapter. Mainly because there's this song by Band of Horses that has been getting me through this fic. It's by Band of Horses, and it's the perfect song about loneliness and crap. I've been wanting to write a chapter like the last one ever since I first heard it._

_It's a beautiful song, and incredibly simplistic yet so powerful all at once. Maybe some of you like other kinds of songs, but I'm an Indie-nerd. Ignore the video, though it's a bit telling on its own. Especially at the end. The song is called "Is There a Ghost" so you can look it up on your own. (I can't give a link.)  
_

_Now, for a less-than-serious topic. It suddenly occurred to me that it's pure genius for Shippuden!Shino to be nearly fully-covered. Why? Because that's the cocoon! Next thing you know, there's going to be a shot of him sleeping in the forest, perhaps all spit-wadded himself to a tree, all rigid, and suddenly he rips through his clothes and out pops a clone of his father! Baboom! The process is complete! Now he just needs to rest his wings a bit, exercise them a little, let them harden fully and then he can TAKE TO THE SKIES AS HIS OLD MAN! It's all there, in black and white, in the manga. That is what will happen. He will turn into his father by the end of Shippuden. Just emerge from his clothes, have a full-out goatee, ears pierced, man-skank self-identity, the whole Papa-Package, damn it! Just you people wait. You might all think I'm crazy, but I have a feeling that's what Kishimoto is seriously planning for our beloved bug-boy…_

_And you can bet your ass that when that happens, I'll stand up and shoot streamers out of my ears. Seriously. The streamers are set up to go off on my twenty-first birthday, but for Shino's glorious transformation, that warrants an early streamer-bonanza._

_Oh, and about that whole…Jackie-Jesus thing in the fanfic… It's an inside joke between me and my friends after we saw that one Forbidden Kingdom movie. You know, Jackie Chan was a drunken monk and everything, and he wound up being all magical, so we titled him Jackie-Jesus. It's nothing really special. I just happen to think Kiba would shout out random phrases when surprised. Something like, "Oh fiddle-faddle!" Only…less gay. Like, "Racer X!" or something equally kickass and nerdy._

_By the way, I realized Chouji and Shino should both be thirty, since their birthdays are before summer, when this takes place. I'll go back and change it later, but right now, just ignore it. I'll get around to it eventually._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 7_

He woke up at eleven to the feeling a warm embrace around his shoulders. He was surprised to sit up and see a blanket over him. He rubbed his eyes, straightening and looking over toward the kitchen, where his sister was happily humming something while she made something for lunch. That was weird–she only ever made things like that for special occasions or when she was particularly in a good mood. Any other time, she would've yelled at him to get out of the house and get something himself.

He stood, tossing the blanket to the side and stretching his back as he waddled into the kitchen. "Hana…what are you making? Why are you so happy?"

She smiled, turning to him and dipping the wooden spoon into a murky-looking pea soup. She brought it out, tasted a little, before dumping in a pound of shredded meat. "Kiba, I've met someone!"

Kiba stared at her for a moment, nodding a little, until it hit him. "Wha…What. What!? You _met_ someone!? Who!? Why haven't I met him yet!? Is he good for you!? Is he a real man or a total pansy!? Who is he!?"

She laughed, placing the spoon back down and grabbing the reading glasses from the counter. She pushed them up onto her nose and went over to a document lying on the table, peering it over with a critical eye. "He's very kind. I think you'd like him, and he absolutely _loves_ animals! He's _so_ gentle…"

"Wh-What? B-B-But who _is_ he??"

She smiled, flipping through the document. "Actually, I prosecuted against him about five years ago. Way before you ever came here. I think you were still in college. Well, either way, I met him the other day and he seems really nice."

"Nice!? You _prosecuted_ against him! That means he's one of the bad guys, Hana!"

She pursed her lips, tossing the glasses off and glaring at him. "He _was_, but he's _better_ now. He's much more balanced. He's been seeing a shrink and–"

"I don't _believe_ this! _You_, with a common criminal!?"

"Oh, he's _not_ a criminal, Kiba! He's a postal worker!"

"Yes, but…"

"You are not Daddy, and mother's busy back home, so you can't be her! This is _my_ life, and I'll live it how _I_ want to! If you have any problems with who I end up seeing, you might as well look for a place to live somewhere else! I'll be _damned_ if my own _little brother_ tells _me_ who the hell I can or can not see, especially since he's liked _men_ since the first day he took interest in any piece of shit that gave him the time of day!"

"Hana, I didn't mean…" He frowned, holding his arms out to her. "I _do_ trust your judgment… It's just… I worry, you know? You're the only sister I'll ever have, and…"

She sighed, going back to the food, guilt washing over her. "I understand. And I'm really sorry I snapped at you like that. I didn't mean to sound…well…as close-minded as Daddy or anything… But…I want you to do me a favor. Tell me…who were you on the phone with last night?"

Kiba scratched his face, his cheeks warming up. "Uh…that was Shino. He's a friend from work. See, last night, we had a run-in with this girl who's a little unbalanced, and he couldn't get to sleep since he was worried she'd get herself into some trouble, and so he wound up calling me like I asked him to if he needed to, and when he did, he didn't really…"

She was staring at him, watching him speak faster and grow more flustered. Finally, he trailed off dumbly. She nodded her head. "Yes…well…I need Shino to do me a favor on Monday."

"Uh…okay. Whatever you need, sis."

––––––––––––––––––

Shino stood up from his spot at the window, where he was staring bleary-eyed at the traffic on the streets below. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes and going to the mirror in his bathroom. His eyes were bloodshot, and it was pretty obvious he hadn't slept in a good four days, now that he was looking at himself closer. He was surprised Kiba didn't bring it up at dinner the night before.

He sighed, stepping into the shower real quick and stepping out once clean. Well…Kiba hadn't proven to be much of a challenge, so that meant the shorter man was buying lunch. He sure hoped Kiba would be awake by then… He was aching to get out of his apartment.

He dressed, got himself all ready to get out, and picked up the phone. He'd hung up about an hour ago, and he was pretty sure Kiba's sister, if at the house, had hung up finally. He dialed the number again, finding it ringing three times.

It picked up, that same gruff-yet-feminine voice ringing out on the other line. "Hello? This is Hana Inuzuka speaking."

He paled, hanging up promptly. Shit. She'd recognize his voice for sure!

–––––––––––––––––

The caller hung up, and she hung up, staring at the Caller I.D. Why did that name and phone number seem familiar? She shrugged it off, figuring if it had been important, she'd have written it down somewhere.

"Who was it?"

She looked over at her brother, now in the kitchen working on the soup, and shrugged. "They hung up. Just a sec, let me…" She shuffled some papers around on the coffee table, picking up the phone again. She walked into the kitchen, going through the Caller I.D. again. "Uh…someone named… Abu…Aburame…? Oh! It's your friend Shino."

Kiba dropped the spoon and dove for the phone, re-dialing as quick as possible. "Jackie-Jesus! He probably got spooked because you answered the phone! He's never met you yet! I'm supposed to treat him to lunch today since he won a contest with me."

The phone rang twice, then picked up. "Hello, Shino, buddy! Sorry, that was my sister! …Huh? Oh, yeah. Just let me get dressed and everything and I'll be there in no time… Uh…where exactly is _there_? Where did you want me to meet you? … …Oh, okay. Sounds great! That's a bit out of the way, though, don't you think? …No, it's not a problem or anything…but… Oh, okay. Yeah. I'll meet you there, then." He hung up.

His sister glanced at him, working the soup again. "Well?"

"I'm going to go meet him at this restaurant we went to during lunch one time. It's called Baked Alaska, I think…"

His sister smiled. "Oh, sounds yummy."

"Not really. Not enough stuff on the menu with meat in it…"

"Oh. Well…I'm sure they'd get more customers if they sold my famous Split Pea-Meat Soup."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah! Of course they would!" He grinned, chuckling. "You should probably try to market it to them…"

His sister laughed, and he dashed off toward the bathroom to get ready. His sister called out to him. "Call him back after you're done and have him meet you in the park! Akamaru's been chewing my shoes again! You need to get the poor thing out of the house! A cramped suite like this is no place for a dog that size, Kiba!"

––––––––––––––––

Kiba looked over at Shino, who was currently patting Akamaru on the head cautiously. The first few times, Akamaru tried to pounce, actually knocking Shino down the first time, but since then it'd gotten better. Shino glanced at Kiba, mumbling.

"Akamaru, eh? He's a good dog."

Kiba grinned. "You think so? I trained him myself!"

"Did you train him to pounce on only old ladies and me? Do you see me as an old woman? Because I'm not old…clearly."

Kiba fought back a laugh and shook his head. "Nah, Akamaru just gets happy around people who are world-wise, I guess. He used to jump on my mom's dog all the time when he was a puppy. But then my mother's dog would howl curse words at him and he'd run off whimpering. I'm sure if you howled curses at Akamaru, he'd run away right now."

Shino looked down at the dog, his voice soft. He attempted it, letting out a feeble "A-Awooo…" Akamaru just barked and knocked him over again, much to Kiba's amusement.

He burst out laughing, getting Akamaru off his friend. "You call _that_ a howl??" Shino's face paled, and he knew what was coming next. Kiba let out a howl, and Akamaru soon joined in. "Awwwwwooooooooooo!"

Soon, all the dogs in the park were jumping around and barking uncontrollably. Kiba went red, scratching his face, swatting Akamaru softly on the nose to get him to shut up. "S-Sorry. I guess I forgot the other dogs would get riled up…" He helped Shino up, and Shino sighed.

"It's actually amazing…sort of…" He started to walk off, and glanced back at Kiba. "You really don't know the meaning of the words 'keep it down', do you?"

The shorter man turned red and followed after him. "I guess not. I'm just loud by nature, I guess."

Shino smirked. "I bet you are…" Kiba just stared at him, face growing warm, a bead of sweat falling down his temple.

"Wh-What do you mean by that…?"

"Well, it's obvious just looking at you that you'd be extremely loud. Oh, wait! Hold up." He shot behind a tree, and Kiba did the same, peeking around him as best as he could. Akamaru followed his buddies, peeking around the mess of arms in front of him.

Chouji was sitting on a bench, sighing a little. Shikamaru was sitting there beside him, an arm around his shoulder, glancing up at the sky every once in a while. Chouji looked over at Shikamaru, turned red, and wiped at his eyes.

Shikamaru sighed, turning toward Chouji. "See? It's all better now, right?"

Chouji's face darkened, and he looked at a couple walking by. "I…I dunno. I shouldn't have come here. I knew it was a mistake… Everyone's _looking_."

Shikamaru waved a hand absentmindedly. "Who cares?"

"I do! I care more than you, Shikamaru! I care what people think!"

Shikamaru sighed, drawing his hand away, placing it back with the other, which was resting between his knees lazily. "Alright. Whatever you say, Chouji. But I'm telling you, you'd feel better in the long run."

Shino glanced at Kiba, and Kiba glanced back up at him, his face red. He whispered hoarsely. "I think we walked in on something we shouldn't have…" Shino nodded, and Kiba pulled away from the tree. "Good, then let's go."

The second they took a step from the tree, Shikamaru's eyes widened, and he stood. "Hey, look Chouji, it's Shino and Kiba!"

Chouji buried his face in his hands, growing more red by the minute. "Oh great. Kiba's the last person I'd want to find out about this…"

They both walked over, and Kiba put his hands on his hips, Akamaru mocking his affronted demeanor. "What, do you not think I can keep a secret or something?"

Shikamaru just nodded. "That's exactly it. Chouji'd rather not let anything get out right now, especially because of Neji and all."

Shino's eye twitched. "What does _Neji_ have anything to do with any of this?"

Shikamaru waved his hands. "It's a long story, and I'm sure Chouji would feel better after lunch. See, he was feeling down, and I took it upon myself to take him out to cheer him up a little. After all, he's done nothing but help me out in the past. Isn't that right, Chou?" He looked down, patting Chouji affectionately on the shoulder, and Chouji nodded his head weakly. Shikamaru shrugged. "He's just embarrassed."

Kiba nodded. "I suspect he would be, considering the fact that his co-workers found out."

Chouji stood, growing a bit angry. "Y-You haven't found out _anything_ yet, so don't go telling anybody about what you saw here, alright??"

Shikamaru smiled, giving Chouji a man-hug. "Calm down, Chou. Shino'd never tell, and I'm sure he can get Kiba to shut up."

Kiba gasped, pointing his finger at the lazy genius. "What do you mean by that!?" He glanced at Shino, turning slightly pink, and Shikamaru stared at him, nodding his head a little.

"Yeah." He turned his eyes to Shino. "Would you two like to come see a movie with us? I'm sure it'd cheer Chouji up big time."

Shino smiled weakly, rubbing the back of his head. "Eh…what movie is it?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "_Get Smart_. It's some stupid movie I'd never watch, but apparently it's funny, and Chouji needs a laugh today. So for him, I'll endure it."

Shino glanced at Kiba, who was looking energized by the very idea. He groaned. That was one movie he did _not_ want to see. Comedy movies were never funny. He preferred horror movies, like _Squirm_. Now, _Squirm_ was a hilarious movie. It reminded him of his parents back home, back in the hills of the Midwest–redneck central. He'd even grown up in a place just like that, same dumb cop trying to pick up random blondes and everything.

"I'd love to!"

Shino groaned again, and Kiba gave them both a thumbs-up. "We were actually heading for the Baked Alaska. I know Chouji likes that place. Maybe it'd cheer him up!"

They all looked over at Chouji, who looked up cautiously, staring at him as if wondering if he were serious. "R-Really? You…You were going there?" He gave a small smile, glancing at Shikamaru. "I really like their chips…"

His best friend gave a lazy smile back at them, winking. "I think he likes that idea."

Kiba smiled, turning to Shino and nudging his arm. When Shino looked over, he pointed at Akamaru. "I have to go take Akamaru back home, so we can meet up at the Baked Alaska if you want."

Shino nodded, and Chouji blinked. "Ak-Akamaru? Who's that?"

Kiba smiled proudly. "My dog and friend. Isn't he great?"

Shikamaru pointed at him. "Oh, is Akamaru the dog that was with you earlier?"

"Earlier? Well, yeah, but he's still–" He looked over, gasping immediately. "Oh, shit!" He dashed off after the form of his dog bounding over toward a very tiny-looking Chihuahua with a pink bow around its neck. "Akamaru! Stop! That dog is too small for you!! You'll kill it!"

They watched him run off, and Chouji chuckled. "He's an animated person…" Shikamaru nodded, glancing at Shino suspiciously.

"What were you doing with him in the park? I thought he annoyed you. You always groan every time he leans over his cubicle wall and tries to get your attention during work."

He shrugged. "Well…I realized I should probably make friends with someone eventually, and he happened to be more amusing than you two. Speaking of you two, I never thought you guys were…well…"

Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged looks, and the two both looked back at him, speaking in unison again. "What?" Chouji shook his head. "Uh…we're not…er…we're not together or anything, if that's what you think…" He turned bright red, and Shikamaru's cheeks tinged pink.

Shino just nodded his head. "Okay. Whatever you say." He didn't believe a word of it.

––––––––––––––

Kiba was happily munching on a meat sandwich, going on and on about how mad that woman was when Akamaru started jumping around near her dog. "That woman was pissed! You guys should've stood by and watched! She even hit me with her purse! I told her Akamaru was just being friendly, but she started going on about how her little Princess is a champion-winning pure-breed! Ha! Champion-winning my ass! I saw that dog's teeth as it was baring them at Akamaru! I could even _see_ the plaque build-up and I was two feet away! Seriously, that dog was _nasty_! And the woman was just as much so! She had yellow-stained teeth from that cigarette she was using like a breathing apparatus!"

Shikamaru took one of Chouji's chips when the man wasn't looking, and ate it promptly, pointing at Kiba with his drink, straw facing the shorter of the two on that end of the table. "How do you know so much about dogs? I'm sure you're a dog-enthusiast, but you sure have a lot of knowledge on the subject. Does your family raise them or something?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah. That's sort of the family business. We breed certain types, but at the same time we also have an obedience school set up and help train them. The entire family pretty much knows how to train dogs. It's pretty much in our blood." He smiled a little, and Shino glanced over at Chouji, who was looking distant.

"Hey, is Chouji alright? He looks…"

Chouji finally broke, his face falling into the table, tears squeezing their way down his cheeks. "I can't believe she'd do that to me… She said she really, really liked me, and then she went and…" He sobbed, and Shino took a quick double-take, staring at how Shikamaru was looking at him.

Well, he'd gotten the wrong impression entirely.

Chouji looked up at them, sniffling. "You have to promise not to tell Neji… I don't think her father ever said anything to him about it, but I just want to make sure he never finds out…"

Kiba blinked. "What? What are you going on about?"

He broke down again, and Shikamaru put an arm around his friend's shoulder, sighing. "Well, he was engaged to Neji's cousin, Hinata. She'd been putting off telling her father, but Chouji insisted he would understand. Of course, the second she told her father, he demanded that she cut off the engagement and decided she needed someone a bit more…suitable for the heir to such a big company. Apparently she's now going out with some punk named Naruto."

Kiba blinked. "Naruto? That sounds familiar… Oh! Naruto Uzumaki! Isn't he the guy in charge of the city's development plans? Like…city coordinator or something… He was working his way up there to hopefully earn enough trust to become mayor, wasn't he?"

Shikamaru waved his hand. "Whoever. I don't really care. All I know is that Hinata called and told Chouji that she was happy because he was the guy she had a crush on in college."

Chouji started to sob again, and Kiba leaned over, placing a hand over his. "Hang in there, big guy."

The other three tensed, and Shino grabbed Kiba's arm away, standing up sharply. "Uh…"

Chouji looked up, sniffling. "Wh-What? _Big guy_!? Are you implying something!?" His expression changed, and soon he looked ready to beat the living shit out of his co-worker. Shikamaru sighed, sitting back a little.

Kiba smiled sheepishly, looking to Shino for help. Shino shook his head, and smiled. "Well, it was nice seeing you two, but I think it'd be best if we go…"

They left the restaurant, and Kiba shuddered. "I…I was only trying to be nice…"

Shino nodded. "Yeah, well, I'm sure you meant it as endearing, but only Shikamaru's been able to call him big guy. He calls him that at the office, and roughly around the time they first got jobs at the magazine, Neji thought he'd start calling him that, too. He meant it in good terms, but Chouji took it the wrong way and a fist fight ensued. Chouji got his ass handed to him and Neji nearly got fired. Ever since then, Neji's called Chouji names behind his back. It's pretty childish, but I think he's just disgusted that Chouji is so sensitive like that. In short, don't ever mention even the littlest thing in regards to Chouji's weight to him or when he's around."

Kiba nodded. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind…"

––––––––––––––––––

The day was good, and for the first time in a long time, Shino had no problem getting to sleep that night. Finally, Monday rolled around and he was sitting at his desk, flipping through a few CD's he'd managed to buy on Sunday. They weren't anything special, just a bunch of CD's he'd hoped would help him tune out the work place. For the first time, he, while he hated his job, was starting to worry how much longer it'd take for him to turn into TenTen, absorbed with work and unable to function outside with other people.

TenTen hadn't shown up that day. There was a feeling in the pit of his stomach that she wouldn't show up tomorrow…and the day after that…and the day after that…and the day after that. In fact, he had a feeling she wouldn't show up ever again.

"Augustana? Jackson Browne? Those're a bit sappy, don't you think? And Augustana is just like…well, their piano work is _okay_. But most of it just sounds like hick music. Not that _I_ have a problem with it. I grew up with a dad that listened to country."

Shino turned to see Shikamaru peering at his music selections. He gave him a sheepish smile. "My dad listened to stuff like Lynyrd Skynyrd. He was sort of a hick… I guess there's part of me that grew used to it…"

Shikamaru shrugged, pointing at the Jackson Browne CD. "The only song of his I can stand is Doctor My Eyes. Your taste in music sucks. Then again, I may be biased because my dad's a wuss and I prefer to like things he'd hate. I like piano-oriented music more than acoustic guitars." He shrugged, slowly adding in a small smile as he pulled out a folder from behind his back. "Oh, and Shino…? You wouldn't mind doing this folder's worth of shit, would you? I forgot about it last week and now Jiraiya's on my ass."

Shino sighed, taking the folder from him. "Alright, but next time ask Kiba. He's more than willing to do shit for people. I'm kind of swamped right now…"

The genius raised a brow. "Swamped? You're not actually trying to _get out of work_ are you? That's unheard of…" He chuckled. "What brought this whole change on? Did you suddenly realize how much of a loner you were and realized work was getting in the way?"

Shino shook his head, turning to Shikamaru. He looked around, took a deep breath, and finally felt a weight lift off his chest as he finally spoke his feelings. "Actually…I used work as an excuse to not befriend people…" He started twisting his fingers together anxiously. "I realized I was getting too absorbed with work when…well, TenTen was at dinner with Karin and Ino and Kiba and I the other day…and she finally lost it."

Shikamaru's eyes widened, and his arm twitched, just a slight amount. "Wait, lost it? What do you mean? Is that why her car's not in the parking garage today?"

Shino gave him a weird look, but ignored it. "Well…apparently she's really…well… I don't really feel comfortable talking about her like this." He sighed, twisting his fingers around each other even harder. "She broke down and had to leave. She's really not as strong as she appears at work. Apparently, she was too involved with work, and it started getting to her." He waited a moment, stewing it over. "Well, I think she used work as an outlet or something, but she's not as strong as she appears. Her medication stopped working the other week…"

Shikamaru hummed. "Hmmm…so that's why she wasn't eating lunch at her normal place…"

Finally, Shino started to wonder. "Wait, how do you know all this about her? Do you _stalk_ her or something?"

Shikamaru laughed, waving a hand at him. "Please. That's juvenile. If I were ten years younger, maybe…but no." He shrugged his shoulders. "But…wow. If she's as unbalanced as you say, she must be a handful…" He went back to his desk. "Glad I heard about it before I tried anything… Who'd want to get involved in someone like _that_…? That's pretty troublesome, if you ask me…"

Shino's jaw dropped. Well, he thought that if Chouji weren't gay, Shikamaru surely would've been…but it seemed he was interested in TenTen… His gaydar must've been busted big time. Something creeped down his spine and his eyes shot up to find Kiba walking over, staring straight at him.

"Hey, buddy! It's going to be fun staying at your place tonight!"

His jaw dropped. "Wh-What?? Why would you go do something like that!? You've got your own home to go to!"

Kiba stared at him for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Shoot! I forgot to ask you the other day, didn't I?? Well." He put his hands on his hips, smiling brightly. "As it turns out, my sister is having a big dinner with some guy who works at the post office, so she wants me out of the suite for a full night. So, I figured…since we're buddies and all…" He went over, nudging Shino's shoulder playfully. "I figured you'd let me crash at your place!"

"Wh–…" He sighed, placing an arm on Kiba's shoulder. He didn't notice how Kiba's cheeks flushed, nor how he gulped a little. "Could you please tell me _who_ would schedule one of those kinds of dates on a weekday?"

"My sister!"

Shino sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, I don't mind letting you crash at my place, but Akamaru is too big for a suite, let alone _my_ apartment. My apartment is fairly small, and I don't even think that he would even fit in the stairwell…"

Kiba smiled. "Nah, it's alright. Her date's dreadfully unbalanced, and it's safest when animals are around because they calm him down, so Akamaru's going to be staying with her."

He gave the shorter man a long look before rolling his eyes. "Alright. Just make sure you bring your things and you can spend the night at my place. But I think you should talk your sister out of men of that caliber. That seems a bit dangerous…"

"Oh, I already discussed it with her." He grinned. "She cursed me out pretty badly. She's a lot like Dad in that aspect. Thought Mom could give her a run for her money, for sure."

"Right. I'm sure it was a nice home life growing up… Well…" He glanced at his desk, noticing the folder Shikamaru had dropped off. He picked it up, handing it to Kiba. "In exchange, you have to do this work for me."

"But that's Shikamaru's work, right? It even has his name on the folder."

He tore that part off, handing the rest of the folder and its contents to Kiba. "…Not anymore."


	8. Is There a Ghost pt2

_Woah, I have just gotten the best idea for Neji's little storyline in this. Just like I added in so much detail, I also made sure to add in just as much detail in each character as to how they wind up at the end. And if they don't have their storylines all tied up by the end of the story, I'm pretty sure I'll make sequels. I need to work with Suigetsu's details, though. Because I totally forgot he…did he kill his brother or something? I'm trying to remember. Oh well. I like his neurotic sister threatening to drop her kid off with him and run off with her boyfriend. Reminds me of Karin, yeah-huh. Poor guy can't get a break anywhere. I now know his last name, so I went back to fix it. (Since I wanted to make the characters Shino was closer to just have first names, but I didn't know Karin or Suigetsu's, so there.)_

_Does anybody else find it funny that Neji's name means "screw" while the other members of his family all have names that have to do with sunlight and crap? It's like, Neji was the dark little storm cloud born into such a sunny family. He's the hurricanes that blow through Florida, people. He's the homeless population in California. He's a loser, a nobody. In short–he's screwed._

_Fitting name, right? (Even though it's the other screw.)_

_Enough about my dislike of Neji. :D _

_Shit. I was re-reading it, and I realized I made Karin with him for four weeks. She was only with him for a single week. It was Ino he was with for that amount of time. So that prompted me to finally go back and fixed all of it. Yay! _

_Oh, but if any of you are re-reading Chapters One, Three and/or Four, (I tend to re-read stories all the time.) please send me a review if you find that something I had mentioned in them isn't there anymore._

_Also, about Shino's mini explanation of where he found the tapes, a similar experience happened to me when I went to Missouri (where my grandparents are). There was a gas station on the side of a road after we got lost, and inside it was a gem for old things. There was an abandoned laundry mat off to the side where they even had early Apple computers–the kind that were so loud you could hardly hear yourself think–and shit. They had NES games and old VHS tapes inside the "pit stop". It was like heaven for me, since I'm so into old stuff like that._

_Can all of you see the closet-homo starting to inch its way into Shino's head? I don't know why, maybe it's just me, but I happen to think that him worrying about Kiba knowing he knows the other is gay for reasons that it would mean they'd become even closer screams closet-homo. Maybe that's just me. I mean, most people who accept someone who's gay usually have no problem with a gay person after they know the other knows, right? At least, that was the experience with my best friend (SAM). I knew she was gay about four months before she even told me. Then, of course, I pretty much laughed in her face (though she told me over the phone since she was so scared) that she was stressing so much. Like I'd _actually_ just suddenly stop being her friend because I found out she was gay… (The humor in that is clearer when you know two of my other gal pals, one of which being my best friend since second grade–friends she _knew_–were openly bisexual together.)_

_I think someone who's gay–at least these days, when almost everyone at my high school had no problem with homosexuals or bisexuals–has twice as much to stress about when they actually like the straight friend they're admitting it to. Other than that, I really don't see why they should be stressing at all. _

_I'm sure that view is just due to the social circles I'm in. I'll bet in other social circles it's twice as taboo. Most of the time it's just the fact that people are squeamish around gay people. Has anyone noticed that some people are more squeamish around homosexuals than they are around the heterosexuals that are twice as terrible and sex-crazed?_

_Whatever. Homosexuality's always been a touchy subject, right? One wrong sentence and you've offended somebody. Oh well. If anyone's offended, I'll probably laugh at them. I don't really see why anyone'd get offended so easily over something so trivial. If I had anything against gay people, I highly doubt I'd be writing a fanfic with the gay almost all over it. Maybe it's just my reference to homosexuality as 'the gay'? Maybe it makes it sound catchable or something? I dunno. I'm just using what my friend uses. She calls herself inflicted with the gay all the time, as a joke. Then again, where we grow up, people tend to view homosexuality as something you can catch._

_I'm ranting aren't I? Just ignore it. It's not really important anyway._

_Just to clear anything up, I was raised Baptist, in Texas, my parents are from Missouri so my background's pretty conservative…but, like most kids these days, I've become more liberal over time. (Not to mention I really can't see how the church has helped me over the years, nor have the people there made me feel welcome to any degree, so I've gone a bit…stale.) So, don't be surprised if any of you find inklings of that in my fics. It's how I was raised, and you never really lose all of that. (I think you'll see it more later in the fic.)_

_(Funny church story–I had a crush on this guy for a long time until I met his dad, who looked EXACTLY like him older except he was more mature and extremely nice, so I wound up crushing on his dad instead. Ha ha! What's even funnier is that, looking back, I see signs that the guy actually liked me, but I was too stupid to notice so I never did anything about it. And then I wound up crushing on his dad instead. Oops. Stupid me. That's one of the reasons why I'm afraid to go back–I'm afraid his dad won't be there. His dad was the only one that ever made me feel welcome at that church, along with most of the adults. The children there were mean as shit. Except for one girl who would be the only reason why I'd go back, since she was the only one (minus the adults) that seemed real.)_

_Any more Bible-raised peeps reading this? Yeah. One word: Ruth. I'll let you guys come to your own conclusions with how that ties into this chapter at all. Of course, I'm pretty sure in the Biblical story there was intercourse involved between her and that one dude that owned the wheat fields._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**_  
Scene 8_

Hana smiled, pulling out her cookbook. She was so happy she'd been given the day off; that gave her enough time to make something special–her favorite roast. She'd made it week and a few days ago for Kiba after they had gotten an answer to that ad, and now she was going to make it for her date–Juugo.

She smiled, turning to the page with the roast on it. Her eyes brightened and a scribble on the side caught her eye. "Oh, 'Kiba's Date'. I wrote that number down, didn't I?" She smiled happily, looking it over. She peered over the numbers, suddenly feeling cold settle in the pit of her stomach. That number was so familiar. She was sure she'd seen it recently…

"Why…does it seem _so_ familiar. I can… The name of the person is on the tip of my tongue! Who was it!?" She went to the phone hung on the wall, picking it up and looking through the Caller I.D.

"Oh, there! I knew I–" She nearly dropped the phone. "Shino Aburame!? That's Kiba's friend from work! _He's going to be over at his house all night!_" She paled. "Kiba said he met him, but he never knew Shino was his date… Why would… Why would someone not mention that!?"

She fell into a chair, hundreds of different scenarios running through her brain. But one thing stood out–her brother was spending the night over at a pervert's house. And she was fairly sure Kiba liked him!

"Oh my God. You should never have left home, Kiba…" She groaned, dialing the number. There was a tone, and she groaned. Of course. The bastard was at work. It was noon, after all…

The rest of the day she spent cooking and worrying. Finally, around the time Kiba came home, she went to the phone, picking it up. She dialed the number, hoping Shino would be home by then.

Then, she'd give him a piece of her mind.

––––––––––––––––

Shino unlocked the door to his apartment, sighing heavily. He just hoped the roaches would decide _not_ to come out with Kiba over. Kiba was chattering away about some bum on the subway that smelled like piss and booze and reminded him of an old guy who owned a pharmacy back when he was a kid.

He finally turned around, just in time to see a cockroach scurry along the doorframe. "Kiba, will you please be quiet? I need some time to think."

"Oh, alright, Shino, buddy…" He looked up, surprised to find a cluster of roaches traveling along the ceiling. "Woah! You've got a roach problem, Shino! Have you ever heard of the words pest control?"

Shino sighed, going into the kitchen. "Last time I checked, they weren't pests. They usually keep to themselves, actually. I think they really like me, though. Last year the whole building was fumigated, and they managed to all flee and take refuge in my place. Ever since then, they haven't left." He came out with a beer, offering one to the shorter man.

Kiba took it, drinking eagerly. "So…you don't see a problem with them at all?"

Shino rolled his eyes. "Please. If they managed to survive a fumigated building, they must be pretty hardy creatures. Oh, watch this." He snapped his fingers, and one roach came skittering out of the bathroom on the ceiling, skittering around until finally it dropped into his hand. He quirked a brow, and Kiba's mouth opened.

"Shit, you _trained_ them!?"

Shino just shrugged. "I don't think so. I noticed they like carrying the paper to me in the morning. I guess they just like me or something. Oh, but stay away from that one." He pointed to one resting on the television. "I killed his friend last Saturday. I suspected they were family, but I can't be sure. All I know is he's been bothersome ever since."

Kiba stared at the roach for a moment and then finally looked around. "Yeah, where's the remote?"

Shino pointed to the roach on the television. "Don't bother. That little shit turns the television off every time I sit down and turn it on. That's what I meant when I said bothersome. I can't even watch the news, and it crawls around on my newspaper whenever I try to catch up on the news." He took another sip of the beer, and Kiba walked over to the television, approaching the little thing cautiously, as if it would bite him.

"I didn't think bugs had higher brain functions."

"Neither did I. Apparently these ones are smart. Like I said–they survived a fumigated building, so they must be a bit special." He shrugged, taking a spot on the sofa. "So, did you manage to finish your work today?"

Kiba groaned, taking a spot next to him. "I thought we were friends! I don't want to talk work with you outside of work, damn it! Let's watch T.V.!" Shino pointed at the roach on the television and Kiba growled. "Oh. Right–_that one_. Just squish the damn thing. It's a pest, right? Just kill it."

Shino shook his head. "Akamaru annoys the hell out of me, but you don't see me asking you to put him down every time he knocks me over."

"You _like_ these roaches, don't you!? You've gone so long without human contact that you've turned to bugs!"

"Hey, mind what you say. And yes, you could say I've grown used to them."

"They're dumb bugs, Shino. I doubt they even realize where they are or who _you_ are. You can kill them, right? A _dog_ on the other hand–" There was a plop, and he looked down to see a roach had dropped into his beer. He wheezed, throwing the can in disgust.

"Shit! What the hell!? They ruined my beer, damn it!"

Shino stifled a laugh. "I told you to watch what you say…"

The phone rang, and Shino leaned over for the phone by the couch. He picked it up, shooting Kiba a look that clearly said, "Shut it." He cleared his throat.

"Hello, this is Shino Aburame speaking…" There was a pause, and he paled considerably. "Uh…" He turned to Kiba. "It's your sister… She wanted to tell you something…"

Kiba picked up the phone, grinning. "Hey, Hana, sis! How's your date going!" He stopped, looking over at Shino with a worried glance. "He _what_? Wait, you can't be serious! Oh my God!" His face paled and he shot up; Shino groaned, sure his sister had discovered everything.

But, something else happened entirely. He threw the phone into Shino's hands. "I can't believe I forgot to say good-bye to Akamaru! She says he got depressed and threw up! He probably thinks I'm never coming back! Oh no! I…I have to go! I'll be right back, okay, Shino??" He dashed out of the apartment and Shino gave a sigh of relief.

He swallowed, putting the phone against his ear. "Sorry about that. He'll be over soon." Her voice rang out on the other line.

"That's why you hung up the other day, isn't it? You thought I'd recognize your voice…"

He gulped. "Y-Yeah…" He sighed. "Sorry."

"Why didn't you tell my brother you were his date that day? He got upset when he got home! I just don't understand what's going through your head! Why would you decide to go out on a date with someone, meet up with them and get to know them, and not mention you're the one they were on the date with in the first place! Are you some kind of pervert or something, you sick bastard!?"

"I thought he'd be a girl, to be honest."

There was a long silence over the phone, and finally she chuckled. "Oh, I think I understand. So…you know my brother's gay, right?"

He nodded before realizing she couldn't see it. He cleared his throat. "Yes, I know. And even if I didn't, you would've told me by now. But yes, I figured he was gay."

"You're not, are you? I mean, you said you expected a girl, but…you're not bisexual or anything, are you?"

"Not to my knowledge, no. I've got a question for you, though. Kiba was telling me how his father disowned him. Is it because he found out he was gay? Is that why he's living with you now?"

"Y…Yes. Daddy was very angry about that, since Kiba was his only son, so he wouldn't get anyone to carry on the family name… Mom didn't have a problem with it. I think she always sort of knew. She was always good at that sort of thing… Kiba…loves Mom very much, but I think he's afraid if he moved back home, he'd cause trouble for her and wind up being disowned by her as well…"

"Hmmm… Did you always know about it?"

"There were signs, of course. I mean, I thought nothing of it when he was a kid and went through that whole 'cootie' phase…but most of the time those don't last into middle school, and he never really had an interest in girls despite the fact that he was definitely interested in dating… …I guess I did. That's why when he moved here, I wanted to help him find someone. It was pretty rough at first, but then I figured he could put up an ad. He liked the idea so he did." There was a long, long moment of silence on both lines, until finally she sighed.

"I know you two aren't involved or anything…but I'm still glad he knows you. He's always talking about his new best friend at work, and all the other friends he met through him." She paused. "I'm glad his best friend is you, Shino."

Shino smiled, until there was a loud crash on the other line. "Shit!" She exclaimed, and soon he heard Kiba's voice.

"Akamaru! Where are you!? I didn't mean to leave you here all alone, boy!"

"Kiba!? How the hell did you get back so fast!?" There were footsteps, and Kiba's voice became clearer. He sounded out of breath.

"I ran… I ran all the way home, Hana… Wh-Where's Akamaru??" There was barking, and a soft thud, and Kiba's laughter over the line, so Shino figured Akamaru had finally bounded out to greet him.

"Kiba, how'd you run all the way over here so fast?? Is that–Is that _mustard_ on your shirt!? Where–"

"Shino only lives six blocks away! You know that street vendor at the corner of the street? I got hungry and grabbed a hot dog on the way up. I nearly choked on it. Half of it is in the elevator! …Akamaru! I missed you already! I'm sorry I didn't say good-bye to you properly! I wasn't going to leave forever, boy! I was going to be back tomorrow afternoon!"

Shino smiled, hanging up the phone. Kiba said he'd be back, and he figured he would be.

–––––––––––––––––

He did _not_ count on the bastard getting home around seven. Kiba slammed the door open, nearly squishing all the roaches skittering around on the wall the door was sure to smash in. "Sorry I'm late, Shino. Juugo wound up coming over early, and my sister wanted me to meet h– Hey! Did you order anything for _me_!?"

Shino was picking through a box of Chinese food, picking out all of the noodles and leaving everything else behind. He hated eating anything that reminded him of worms–he'd gotten his fill back at the worm farm. He couldn't _believe_ they thought he said noodles when he _clearly_ said rice! He glanced up at Kiba, tossing his head in the direction of the kitchen.

"There's a fortune cookie back there with your name on it."

Kiba gasped. "I'm not eating _scraps_! Hey, what are… The noodles are the best part of that! Don't tell me you're just going to throw them away! …Give 'em here, _I'll_ eat them!"

Shino smirked, handing him the Styrofoam cup he'd been emptying them into. "What's this about not eating scraps?"

His friend grabbed the cup of noodles, downing the entire cup. "But throwing away perfectly good noodles!? That's wasteful!" His stomach growled hungrily, and he shot Shino a dirty look. "I can't believe you'd let noodles go to waste like that! You're so picky! Sheesh, you're just like a child!"

Shino pointed to the kitchen. "I hope you like Mongolian beef. It was the only beef I could find. You like meat, right? I made sure they replaced the broccoli with pork."

Kiba just stared at him like he was crazy. "I like meat as much as the next person, but I'd like to get some veggies in there, too! My sister would kill you if she found out you weren't feeding me properly!"

Shino rolled his eyes, grabbing the cup back and depositing the rest of the noodles in it. "Oh _now_ who sounds like a child? I swear, you treat your sister like she's your mother. You should stop doing that. Hopefully you've been weaned… I'd hate to imagine your sister having to take over…"

"You asshole! You take that back right now! I only treat my sister like that because I respect her! You left home so fast you probably don't even remember what a mother looks like!"

Shino gave him a long look before putting his box down. He stood, going into the kitchen and grabbing Kiba's food. He opened a window, and Kiba gasped, "N-No! I'll eat it, I swear!" Instead of him tossing it out, he dumped the contents onto his bed, where a swarm of roaches promptly devoured the entire thing, taking whatever remained back to their cracks in the ceiling.

Kiba groaned. "What the hell was _that_ for, Shino!? I told you I'd eat it! So what if I yelled, I'm sorry, alright!? It was for that mother comment, right? I'm sorry! I'm sure your mother's lovely!"

"She was."

He glared at the shorter man and slammed the door shut, locking it. Kiba stared at the door, processing all of that information. Finally, it dawned on him. "Oooooh…" He bit his lip, going to the door. "Uh…Shino, buddy… I didn't mean it, okay?"

After a long, long moment, Shino called out from the room. "Clean up that beer you threw down and I'll consider forgiving you…"

Kiba stifled a laugh and went over to the beer can still lying there, the beer soaked into the carpet by now. He picked it up, wondering why on earth Shino hadn't cleaned it up earlier. Usually he was way more anal about stuff like that. He held it up, remembering a roach had jumped in it before. "Still in there, little fella?" The second those words left his mouth, a roach shot out of the can and landed smack into his face. He screeched, dropping the can and falling backward…right into the television.

It fell but, amazingly, didn't shatter or anything. It was only sitting on a small table, and there was hardly any place for it to fall off of. Shino opened the door of his bedroom to see Kiba sprawled over the television, gingerly easing himself off to hopefully not break it. The roach had skittered off his face, and Shino walked over, helping his friend up.

"You can't go anywhere without making a mess, can you?"

Kiba smiled, his cheeks warming. "Does this mean things are okay between us now?"

Shino sighed, nodding his head. He pointed to the Chinese food box over on the table. "Take it. I'm not really that hungry anyway." He bent down, cleaning up the mess Kiba made, and Kiba happily went to the box, devouring the contents.

After a long, long moment, Kiba went to the couch and sat down. Shino walked in, picked up the empty box and put it away. He spent a good four minutes tidying up the rest of the house before he went and sat down beside his friend. After a long, long, long minute, he finally sighed.

"…My mother died shortly after I was born. I don't really have any memories of her."

Kiba gasped. "Oh man! I'm sorry I said all of those things…" He winced, sure Shino would hit him. Instead, Shino just smiled sadly, looking at his knuckles.

"It's no big deal. I was just a bit…upset earlier. Really, I usually forgot most kids had mothers. It was normal for me to live with just my dad… There were times in elementary school where kids would talk about how embarrassed they were when their mothers picked them up, but I felt like they were all lucky… Instead, I got my father driving up in a van that smelled like dirt and worms." He laughed. "My Dad's always been strange…"

Kiba stared at him for a while, his voice very quiet. "…Why are you telling me this?"

Shino gave him a strange look. "Why not? We're friends, right? I know I'm not that great when it comes to friends, but I'm pretty sure people who know each other well enough tell people things like that…right?"

"It's just…I had a friend in middle school who always said his mother got a divorce. We all believed him until his mother told us his dad was actually dead… It was weird, because we were all really close friends, and we'd go over to his house all the time, but it never occurred to us that his dad was dead. I didn't think people were open about stuff like that…"

Shino turned a strange shade of pink. "Oh…maybe they aren't… I'm really not used to this sort of thing…"

They settled back into and awkward silence, Shino twiddling his thumbs and staring back over toward his room, and Kiba looking up at the roach that had taken its place back on the television. Finally, Shino looked back at him. "Where do you want to sleep?"

Kiba looked at him, scratching his face. "Uh…I don't know. Where would you rather have me sleep?"

"I'll take the couch. Unless…you know…_you_ want it."

"You want me to take the couch, don't you?"

"No. You can have the bed if you want. It's just, if you want the couch instead, you can have it. Don't you think it'd be strange sleeping in another guy's bed?"

His cheeks flushed. "Yeah… That'd be sort of awkward… Kind of like wearing another guy's pants… I'll have the couch, then. You can have the bed."

Shino nodded, standing up. There was a beep on his message machine, and the _one_ thing he wished wouldn't happen when Kiba was over…happened.

"Hey, Shino! It's me again! Suigetsu, what the– You're dead, Aburame! You hear me!? I can't believe you still call this douche bag, Karin! Three years of friendship and he tells me it was all jackshit! He's a– Suigetsu, get the hell out of here! I'll call whoever I feel–! He hates you, you know! Why do you even call him!? You broke up with _him_, you psycho!"

The message cut off, and Kiba looked over at his friend. "Wow…she calls you a lot, huh? She means nothing to you, though, right? Why does she act like you love her and shit?"

Shino sighed. "I think she's making up for the fact that Sasuke hates her guts. She probably feels its easier to claim I still love her than deal with the fact that people dislike her because she's a psycho."

Kiba nodded his head, before looking back up at Shino. "You know… I know how you said friends said stuff like that to each other, and I agree it's not good to keep secrets. See, it turns out my dad actually…" He trailed off, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. He wanted to tell Shino so bad, but what would he think of him? He was staying the night at his house and everything. He'd invited himself… He'd probably gather that he liked him…which was true…but he didn't want him to find out…

Shino stared at him, working that over in his head. For some reason, he felt awkward. Sure, he knew Kiba was gay…but for some strange reason he didn't want Kiba to know he knew he was gay. It seemed…weird. Like they were supposed to grow closer after all of that. Like if he accepted him and Kiba knew it, things were supposed to grow from that. They were supposed to become better friends or something.

He stuttered, hands trembling. "You were dating someone your dad didn't approve of, right? Your sister told me your dad found out who you were dating, and he didn't approve of the girl you were seeing. He said he didn't want you marrying her…" He was pulling all of this out of his ass, taking from their encounter with Chouji the other day. He hoped Kiba would accept that and shut up. He didn't want Kiba to go off and tell him he was gay. For some strange reason, the idea terrified him.

Kiba stared at him for a moment. "Hana told you all of that? She…she said Dad didn't like the girl I was planning to marry?" When Shino nodded, Kiba looked down. "You believed that?"

Shino nodded, hoping he didn't look flustered, hoping Kiba would accept it and move on to a different topic of conversation. Kiba finally chuckled, staring down at his fingers. "Yeah… That's…that's what happened…"

Shino went into his room. "I'm sorry about that. You must've liked her a lot. She probably dumped you afterwards, didn't she?"

Kiba's insides twisted. "Yeah…sssshe…did. She did… She said she didn't want her parents finding out either…"

Shino walked out, carrying a few VHS tapes. He couldn't believe he still had a VHS player, but he'd taken the television set and the VHS player from his dad's basement, so he figured he should probably buy some movies for it. Sadly, the selections he found at the second-hand shops around the town he grew up in weren't that great. But he had one movie–one he figured Kiba would like–that he picked up in a rest stop on the way out of the state he used to live in.

He tossed it into Kiba's lap, and Kiba jumped, looking up at him for a quick moment before looking at the movie in his lap. His face brightened. "Oh man. Shit, I _loved_ this movie when it came out! I didn't even care that I was one of the only boys that kept watching it into high school! I didn't know you liked it!"

"I don't…at least…not really movies. I'm more of book and T.V. drama person. I suppose you also liked Homeward Bound and movies like that, too?"

Kiba stared at the gem in his hands, his voice low, as if in a trance, completely in awe–Shino took that for a definite yes. "…All Dogs Go to Heaven…" He looked up at him, grinning. "So, we can watch it!?"

When Shino nodded, Kiba jumped up. "Sweet! I'll go rummage for snacks!"

While he was in the kitchen, Shino popped the tape in. He went into the bedroom and got a few more movies out of his stash–movies he normally wouldn't even think of watching by himself: the action movies, the comedies, the detective dramas.

Kiba came out with a bag of chips he had stowed away. They were stale–he knew it because the last time he looked at that bag, it was roughly around the time he had dated Ino–, but Kiba didn't seem to notice as he opened the bag and started chomping down.

The night wore on, and soon Kiba had scooted over to Shino, practically up against him. Finally, somewhere around Terminator Two, Kiba had fallen asleep, bag of chips drooping out of his hands. He was so close, his body was right up against the taller man's chest; he could feel him breathing.

He relaxed, putting his head in the hand propped up on the arm of the couch, staring at the television screen but not what was going on in the movie. He put an arm over Kiba's shoulder and yawned a little, getting comfy.

It wasn't so bad. Better than Ino, that was for sure. But that was mainly because she ate so much that she was practically skin and bones. Her limbs wound up jabbing him in the ribs most of the time. And Karin–Karin was always on the opposite side of the couch, checking over her shoulder and looking up at the ceiling for roaches. With Kiba it was actually kind of relaxing, comforting.

As his eyes started to droop and he drifted off to sleep, a single thought entered his mind:

He definitely needed to invite Kiba over more often.

––––––––––––––––

Kiba woke up in the middle of the night, yawning and attempting to stretch–that is…until he found Shino's arms around him. He turned bright red, trying to keep himself calm. Secretly, he was enjoying it. A _lot_. He looked over Shino's sleeping face, his cheeks growing warm. He had to piss something fierce–that was why he'd woken up in the first place–, but he wanted to stay here. Plus, if he got up, it'd be hard to get back to that position he was in first or Shino would wake up and decide to turn in finally.

He sighed, fidgeting a little. If he could just keep his mind off his bladder, he could probably enjoy this another thirty minutes…but he was never one for waiting, and four minutes later he'd shot up and dashed to the bathroom.

About ten minutes later, he came out, zipping his fly. Shino was still sitting on the couch, and he approached it, hoping his friend wasn't awake.

"You woke me up."

He sighed, going over to the edge of the couch. "Yeah. I woke you up. Sorry about that."

Shino yawned, stretching. "Fun times in the bathroom, eh?"

Kiba went red. "Wh-What…? What are you talking about??"

"You were in there pretty long. But, whatever." He stood, turning off the television. "I think it's time for bed now. 'Night." He left the room, closing the door to his bedroom, like he usually did. As much as he hated to admit it, closing the door tended to keep the roaches out, and after that last kill, he didn't want to take anymore chances.

Kiba, however, took it the wrong way. He sighed, curling up on the couch. He finally stretched out, looking up at the ceiling. There was absolutely no sound, despite the fact that the roaches usually were quite loud with all the skittering around. Shino hadn't been kidding when he said it got quiet over here.

Which was weird, since cockroaches were nocturnal… After a long moment, a cockroach finally skittered by, though it was extremely quiet. He sighed, rolling over to face the television. Usually he fell asleep quite easily to the sounds of Akamaru's steady snores and his sister's radio in the background–his sister couldn't sleep with silence, and he'd picked up the habit living with her.

Finally, he went to Shino's door, miserable. He squeezed his eyes shut, hoping the door wouldn't be loud or locked. It wasn't, and he crept in. He stared at the bed, surprised to Shino lying there, covers not even over him, eyes shut.

He went to the foot of the bed and took a spot on the floor, curling up. What he didn't count on was to hear Shino mumble, "Close the door," quietly. He stood up, going to the door and closing it. He went back, taking his spot on the floor.

"I told you it got quiet around here. Your dog probably snores like a horse with lungs that huge. I take it you can't sleep with silence?"

"Y-Yeah…" He looked up, up at the edge of the bed, where Shino's foot was fairly close. "Um…my sister also has a radio on most of the time, since she can't sleep in silence, either. Mostly because our parents fought a lot…" He laughed. "Of course, it wasn't always fighting…but…that's really not important…"

Shino chuckled. "I'm glad my dad was single for that aspect…" After a long time, the bed shifted and he peered over the side, where Kiba was trying to get comfy. "What are you doing on the floor anyway? There's enough room for two, here. And plenty of room to spare. Karin never really like cuddling. She was pretty prickly."

Kiba looked up at him, turning pink. "I don't really feel comfortable hearing about your sexual encounters with women…from the office. It makes me unable to look at them the same way again…"

Shino went back, propping up his pillow. "Well, alright. But if you don't want to sleep on the floor, and you can't sleep outside on the couch, there's always room on the bed. I think I snore, so you might be able to go to sleep easier that way…"

Kiba thought about it for a long while, finally groaning and standing up. He knew he'd regret it in the morning, but the idea was really tempting. He doubted he'd be able to sleep on the couch, where it was completely silent, and here he could at least hear an occasional car alarm go off on the streets way below.

Finally, he stood up and got comfy in the space beside his friend. Shino was right–there was plenty of room for them to get their own side. He propped up the extra pillow Shino used for himself. He glanced over at Shino, turning his head to the side. It would've been so much easier if it was someone like Shikamaru or Chouji on the bed next to him. But this was Shino, one of the only guys in the office he felt was worth any sort of affection from him whatsoever.

"Oh, I went to the liberty of cleaning up all the shit you left on the floor while you were in the bathroom. You never closed those chips up."

"…Those chips were pretty stale." He smiled a little, turning pink, trying to keep his thoughts tame.

"I didn't hear you complaining when you ate nearly half the bag. I got those chips around the time I started dating Ino…which was at least a year ago, if not more…"

"Gross!" His voice rose, and he gasped, clamping a hand over his mouth and looking at Shino. He sighed. "I totally ruined the atmosphere didn't I? We should be going to sleep…"

Shino shrugged his shoulders. "It'll wind back down. It's only twelve, anyway… I usually go to sleep around three."

"Damn. You don't get much sleep. I knew it. I never said anything about it, but your eyes are always bloodshot and puffy, like you either cried really hard or never got any sleep the night before."

"I figured you knew… You know, I've gotten the most sleep ever, ever since you showed up. I suppose all I needed was s friend. At least, more of a friend than these damn roaches." He yawned again, scooting down a little. "To be honest, I don't even know why I have these bed sheets. I never use them, anyway." He smiled. "When I was a kid, I used to sneak into my dad's room and take over the covers while he was sleeping. I'd wrap myself in as much of them as possible, like I was in a cocoon, and he'd wind up waking up in the middle of the night cold. That was usually in the winter, though. Where I grew up, it was pretty humid all the time, and hot, too…"

Kiba chuckled, situating himself under the covers. "For the longest time, when I was a kid, my sister and I would share a room… After she moved out of the house, I never suspected I'd have to share a space with her again…and here I am living with her…" He yawned, feeling sleepy.

"Do you miss it?"

He looked back at Shino, frowning a little. "Sometimes I do… I miss my Mom the most. She offered to let me go back after dad died, but I refused. I regret it sometimes…but I can always visit her. I went up there for Easter once. It was nice, but she made me go to church. It sucked. We never went to church when Dad was alive…so I think she realized she wouldn't be alive forever after that. He died fairly young… They say it was heart failure due to stress, but I always think it was my fault…"

"I doubt it. If it was stress-related, it just means he never dealt with stress properly. It's not your fault. It's his fault for failing to deal with problems in the right way. He probably bottled them up inside or dismissed it. You said he wound up disowning you… He was probably unable to cope and so he just sent you away. He probably felt guilty for doing that, and it ate away at him until he had a heart attack…"

Kiba bit his lip. "You know…you're not making me feel any better about it, Shino…"

Shino sighed. "Sorry. I tend to be negative, don't I?"

"Yeah. You do."

"_Now_ who's being negative?"

Kiba snickered, and Shino just smiled. After a long, long time, the shorter man yawned again. "Yeah…I'm probably going to go to sleep now. 'Night, buddy." He looked over to see Shino fast asleep.

He smiled, turning over. He figured should probably stay over more often if Shino got more sleep when he was around…


	9. Lie Next To Me pt1

_Each chapter is a pain to write, and now I even have a sequel all planned out… It's going to deal with Shikamaru, because Shikamaru's one of my favorite characters, and I think his relationship with Asuma needs to be deepened. By way of child custody and unplanned parenthood, of course! In it, Shikamaru's going to go back home to find Asuma's son is now in his custody and he has to take care of the kid. Of course, I'm nowhere near done with this one, so many aspects of that fic are going to change. For instance–Temari might wind up with him. Despite the fact that I dislike that pairing to s fairly crack-exception degree. I don't know why–I've just never seen ShikaTem working. Maybe it's due to the fact that in Shippuden, Naruto even approaches them about it and they both even say that's completely ridiculous. But…you know how anime works… 9o9 Hate is the first step; then neutrality; and then comes hot sex; and finally love and kids. Not to mention Asuma and Kurenai did the exact same thing when people brought them as a couple up._

_Regardless, I'm having trouble writing chapters, because I have to have something major in them to make them interesting… I know it has to deal with Shino slowly realizing he'd rather be with Kiba than a girl, but the only way for that to progress now is for him to _be with a girl_. So…be prepared for some ShinoTen, because she's worth it. I might explain her ties to Sakura when all of that happens… _

_Oh, but I will say that I asked my friend (BETH) for some guidance on how to get Hinata out of the picture so that Neji has a shot at his uncle's stock-broker business…and she gave me some pretty kickass advice.(I figured she could just elope with some random schmuck, and Beth totally gave me an even sweeter idea–a wedding.) I'm totally going for it. I hope you'll all be pleased with it. (And how Neji handles the news.)_

_But I'm, like…four chapters ahead of myself. I still have my plans with TenTen, and Kiba's birthday party and the strippers…and then the trip back to Kiba's hometown… You're in for a multi-faceted reading experience. I hope you all stay with me that long. (Take all this rambling as one giant sneak peek. Lord knows I give them out constantly to reviewers. For no other reason than I can't keep my plans a secret. I just like letting things slip too much. I'd be like one of those super villains that speak in long monologues to the point that the heroes escape and kick my ass to the curb. Either that or the hero's sidekick that winds up getting killed or accidentally letting all the plans for the secret hide-out slip out for having a big mouth. Most likely the sidekick. I can't see myself as a villain. And as the sidekick, most likely getting killed, because I'm a total pansy.)_

_With that said, enjoy the fanfic. :D (And just because much of the next chapters are going to have less boy love and more heterosexualness, I've included this lovely chapter.)_

_Oh, and I strongly support Deidara's sleaziness. He's like the female Sakura. Though, Hinata could give that girl a run for her money. Just as Itachi could give Deidara a run for his money. Doesn't everybody love how those four characters are paired up with EVERYONE? Might as well write a fantastically horrific foursome with them. And, just for kicks, we might as well make it into a giant orgy and throw up everyone they're paired up with into the fray._

_By the way, the idea of Deidara being a big fan of Salvador Dali makes so much sense to me. As him being a fan of Andy Warhol makes sense to me. And that he's a fan of happenings. Sasori–totally into the timeless masters that lasted throughout history–the Renaissance Masters–Raphael, Ghiberti, Donatello, Uccello. (Raphael, probably one of the most influential painters, in my opinion, since he was so young; Ghiberti, for his work on the Bronze Doors and intricate detail; Donatello, for being the greatest sculptor of that era; Uccello, for first introducing perspective in paintings. I'm sort of an art nerd, and am pretty much getting this shit after reaffirming my studies in Art History over the internet. _

_Guess who MY favorite members of the Akatsuki are! It's a tie between Kisame and Tobi. Oh, and Kakuzu: the money weasel/organization's most skilled seamstress. Seamstress. You heard me right. He sews–he's such a woman. (But I will admit, after those three, Deidara's up next followed by Itachi. And then Zetsu. Hidan got bumped down a serious notch since he went and killed Asuma. He used to be one of the ones I thought was the coolest, being immortal and all…but not after he killed Asuma. He was a total lame-o. And how he died so easily? And how Shikamaru tossed him into a bottomless pit and buried his ass? Total lame-o, that one. But it doesn't beat my dislike of Pain and his little Konan. I hate those two so much. And my dislike of them totally doesn't have to do with the fact that I made a cute little six-year-old character that actually resembles their personalities and had the name of Pin Konan about a year before I even knew who the hell they were. Nope. I don't hold petty grudges like that at all… She was a wand-swisher, just so you all know. Totally not a ninja, because witches beat ninjas, since for some STRANGE reason their magic never seems to run out. Because innate magical abilities beat that lame-ass chakra any day.)_

_(I had to get creative with Itachi's Sharingan in this. He's quite the prankster…)_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 9_

Kiba took a drink from the beer he'd grabbed at the bar. He didn't know why, but he always hated mixed drinks. They just always seemed too fruity for him…which was weird considering the fact that he _was_ fruity, technically.

The bartender gave him a long look. "You never order any mixed drinks. It makes me feel cheated, Kiba."

Kiba waved his hand, looking over toward the dance floor. He noticed Sasuke's brother was there–he knew it was him since he looked exactly like the office prick only with darker hair. That Itachi had a new boy toy every week. He was a total sleaze. Not as sleazy as Deidara, but Deidara was a completely different story.

Over to his left, he spied a mass of blond hair and quickly buried himself in his beer. He was probably the only regular Deidara hadn't slept with, and he preferred to keep it that way.

"Oi, Kiba!"

Kiba groaned, and he turned to the approaching blond, flashing him a smile. "Looking good, Deidara."

Deidara returned the false smile with a genuine one, taking a spot at the bar. "As always. And you look pretty good for yourself… My word, have you been working out?" He leaned over, peering over the younger man's body, his smile turning false in an instant. "The results are pretty nice, yeah…"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "…That line would work…if I _did_ go to the gym on a regular basis…or if you didn't use it every time you try to pick me up."

Deidara just smiled. "My, my, you're a tougher nut to crack than that Itachi. Usually he'd be willing to sleep with anyone, but for some odd reason, it took me two weeks to get him to even give me a chance, yeah… I heard that was when he wound up going steady with Kisame. I heard those two are still hitting each other. Interesting, yeah?"

Kiba groaned, looking up at the ceiling, toward the strobe lights. "Enough with the _yeahs_, Deidara. Those are the most annoying things about you, you know. Everything is bearable, even your inherent sleaziness, but that way of speaking is by _far_ the most annoying thing I've come across, and I just got a job with some guy that refuses to talk about anything but fate and his uncle's business."

Pursing his lips together, the older man shook his head in protest. "Tsk tsk, Kiba. You sure are acting disgruntled today, yeah. What rammed into your butt and left a bruise?"

Kiba groaned, nearly crunching the beer can in his hand. "Will you cut it out with all this sleaze-talk!? It's really annoying! I don't even know why I come here anymore! I know you're going to be here, yet I come anyway! I only come here because my sister wants me to find someone so she feels less guilty about dating someone while I'm not!"

Deidara finally smiled, leaning over and placing a delicate palm over Kiba's beer. "Why don't you try me on for size, then? I might make quite a memorial evening for you, yeah…"

He grabbed his beer away, downing the entire thing in one swig and tossing it on the ground. "I'm leaving…" He stormed out of the club, and Deidara followed. After they'd walked almost to the end of the block, Deidara finally caught hold.

"Kiba, let me try this again, yeah!" Kiba stopped, turning to him, and Deidara frowned. "Listen, you look upset."

"I _am_ upset! I'm tired of being hit on by the same people each week! It's always the same people! You, and you, and oh, who else? _You_, god damn it! I'm not interested! I'll never be interested, so stop trying to sleep with me! You're worse than…you're worse than… You're worse than my first boyfriend! He couldn't get enough sex! I don't even know what I saw in him! That's why I dumped his ass!"

Deidara hand moved to the younger man's shoulder. "Kiba, you're _really_ upset. I'm not asking what's wrong to be coy anymore. What the hell is eating at you? You need to tell _somebody_, yeah?"

Kiba looked at him for a long moment before his face fell and he sighed bitterly. "You're right. I'm really upset. It's over this guy from work."

"Mr. Fate-Uncle's-Business, yeah?"

"No, not Neji! He's a douche bag and I couldn't be interested in him if I tried! It's some other guy… I stayed the night at his place last night…" He noticed how Deidara's eyes perked up knowingly, and he growled. "Nothing happened. See, my sister needed me out of the house for this date of hers…and he's my friend, so I decided I'd crash at his place… Well…I really like him."

Deidara rolled his eyes. "Then go for it, yeah? He'll totally like you." He winked. "After all, I have _wonderful_ taste."

"He's straight."

Deidara's face fell. "Oh… Well…then that means it's impossible for anything to happen between you two. So give up on him, yeah." He smiled. "I might help you change your mind, yeah?"

Kiba sighed. "I'm…looking for more of a commitment…"

"Oh, I'm very committed!" A smile lit up the blond's face.

"Not just for sex."

The smile drooped, and he put his hands on his hips. "Well, you'll never get anyone being _that_ picky, Kiba."

Kiba gave him a look, his lips curled up in a sneer and his eyes narrowed. "Yeah, but there's a higher chance of me _not_ getting a venereal disease from someone like Shino."

"Shino's the straight guy, yeah? Straight people carry diseases, too, Kiba. Besides, you'll never get anywhere with him! He's _straight_…as in _not interested in people like us_!!"

Kiba grumbled, avoiding the stares they were starting to attract. "I…I really don't care. Could you just… Ugh, just leave me alone! So what if he'll never be interested in me!? Does it really matter to you!?_ You're_ out of the question!"

Deidara sidled up closer to him, putting a hand to his cheek. "I think you have some anger to work off, Kiba. Perhaps I can help you with that, yeah? You'll feel better at least working off some steam…"

Kiba sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "…No. I…I really don't want to. Not with you. Maybe someone else…"

Deidara winked. "No one's approached you for a good four months back at the club. I'm the only one that's taken notice of you… If not me, then who? There's no one left who'll do that with you… And the one person you'd rather do it with has no interest in you. So what'll you have? Me…or nothing?"

Kiba stared at him for a long time, feeling his resolve crumbling. "…Really. I'll look elsewhere…"

Deidara nodded, a refined look on his face taking hold of his personality. His maturity blossomed, and he cleared his throat, preparing to turn. "Elsewhere indeed, Kiba…" He turned, shooting a single glance back at him. "Anything to forget, yeah?" A wink. A soft curve of a smile. He started to walk back to the club, and Kiba groaned.

He couldn't believe how desperate he was. His sister would have yelled at him for quaking so easily…but that prospect of forgetting about all of this was way too tempting for him to pass up. He started off after the blond. "Deidara…wait. I'll…I'll reconsider."

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba stepped into the older man's studio, swallowing the cold feet he was starting to get. It was a shitty studio, and he half expected to find rats scurrying around everywhere. He heard a squeak behind him, but found it was only the door as Deidara closed it behind him.

He peered into the gloom, looking at a small glow in the corner, by the window. It looked like a man sitting in a chair. The blond then flicked the lights on, and light filled the room, revealing countless of sculptures lining a dozen tables, ceramics waiting to be glazed on shelves by the door, even a kiln in the corner. He realized that the man sitting in the corner was actually a _statue_.

"Wow…"

Deidara glanced over at the kiln and rolled his eyes. "I _know_. It was a bitch to get anyone even _trying_ to get that installed in here. And don't even ask how the landlord felt about it. I had to convince him I wouldn't blow up the entire building before he finally agreed…"

Kiba turned to him. "This is incredible! You make all of these??"

Deidara smiled. "Of course I do. I'm an artist, yeah."

The younger man spied a pile of rubble in the corner, some soft clay mixed in with it, and he pointed to it. "Failures?"

The blond just smiled, taking Kiba's hand and leading him farther in. "No. Those would be successes."

"S-Successes? How does that work if they're destroyed?"

"You've heard of Salvador Dali, yeah? Do you remember his famous egg project? He took part in happenings. Splurges of creativity that were both short and forgotten. Unless the actual happening was filmed or photographed, they were never remembered, sometimes even by the people involved. It was popular during the sixties, but I think it should be brought back into practice. Art is truly beautiful when it is short-lived, yeah. I have parties up here, and I have friends come up and make art, then we destroy all of it at the end of the night. It's a beautiful display of the frailty of nature, the beauty of art, the strangle-hold of time…"

"…I never thought you'd be this deep. I just thought you were a pervert with no time on his hands…" He walked over to a giant pair of glasses with even glass in the frames. It had been sanded down, the frames painted black. On the very ends, there were little fans painted–red and white. "Oh, this is cool! What's this?"

Deidara sneered. "A business deal gone wrong. All of my failures I keep for further reference. The successes get destroyed after photographed and sold as prints. That one right there happened when I invited that stupid Uchiha over for a quick screw. He wound up seeing my work, wanted to see how I'd do with glasses, yeah. Finally, when he saw the final product, he laughed and told me he'd never do anything with something as useless at that! He said it wasn't art! Ever since then, I've been trying to out-sleaze the shitbag! I'll teach him that art isn't all about being useful! Can you believe that? He'd rather sit around counting pennies from his precious eyewear company and making imitation snuff-films! That bastard… He says he wants to come to my place for a silent film–some independent shit! And what do you know…the next week, I find _my_ work hanging in a frame above the bar with _his_ name on it as the artist! He tricked me! Pulled the wool over my eyes, yeah!"

"Wait, so _that's_ why you sleep around so much?"

Deidara laughed. "Of course." He went over to the fridge, grabbing a bottle of wine. "Then, there're always the ones I sleep with because I find them interesting, yeah? Like Sasori… I frequent him and he frequents me. He's in the studio at the topmost level. He makes things like puppets, if you can believe that. He doesn't really share my views on art, but it's a somewhat stable relationship…"

"Wait, he doesn't care that you sleep around?"

Deidara laughed. "He doesn't _know_ I sleep around. Half the time he's engrossed in those stupid toys of his…"

Kiba furrowed his eyebrows. "…You're the lowest of the low…"

Deidara winked. "That's more fun, though, yeah?" He opened the bottle of wine and grabbed two glasses from his pantry, pouring some in there. "…I assume you'll want a little wine to make this more bearable for you… After all," He gave him a winning smile. "We can't all be like your straight friend, yeah?"

Kiba went over, grabbing a glass and downing the whole thing. "So…you plan to get me drunk, is that it? Shit, this stuff tastes nasty. Not like any wine I've ever tasted…"

"That's the idea, yeah. After all, what better way to forget about your problems then to drown them in alcohol…?"

Kiba grabbed the other glass and downed it. "Alright." He took off his jacket, walking over toward the bed in the very back and hopping onto it. "Let's get this over with…" His head was buzzing pleasantly, and already the wine started kicking in.

"That was some strong wine…"

Deidara smiled. "I mix it with vodka, yeah. That's why you probably think it tasted like shit. You never like mixed drinks, and most people find my taste in alcohol rather disgusting to begin with…"

His head started swimming. "Nah…I'm just not used to strong stuff like this…" He fell back on the bed, and the room started to spin. "Shit…did you put roofies or something in that wine?"

"I told you, it was vodka." He vaguely recalled Deidara being on the other side of the room, but now his voice was right in his ear–he could even feel his breath against his skin. There was a shift in the bed and soon Deidara was on top of him, his mouth closing over his own, steadying the dizziness in his head, bringing him back down to earth.

Soon, Deidara's tongue was probing his mouth, dipping in for a taste of that wine-vodka mix, desperately seeking some kind of taste that was solely unique to him. He found none, and bent back, instead opting to run his tongue along his cheek.

Kiba grimaced a little, not really liking that sensation. It reminded him too much like Akamaru's affections, and that was starting to give him the most disgusting thoughts imaginable. Deidara's kisses went down his neck, and he finally licked the dip in his neck.

That sensation was much more pleasing, and Kiba sighed, turning his head to the side. He didn't really understand Deidara's penchant for licking, but all of a sudden he felt his shirt rise and the licking go on along his chest, over his nipples. It was like Deidara had tongues on his hands, for crying out loud! What was with this guy and licking?? He wasn't a dessert, damn it.

There was a brief moment where the older man was almost completely still, or, at least, he didn't feel anything at all. His thoughts started to roam instead, and soon all he could think about was being on the couch with Shino, and how he liked that far better than being quite drunk and seduced by a man with some sick obsession with licking and destroying perfectly good sculptures while calling it art. He didn't want this at all; he didn't want any of this; he wanted a warm couch, a gentle hold, light snoring on the other side of the bed.

Deidara's hand went down to his belt buckle, and he recoiled, putting his hands over his eyes, blurting out the first thing that popped into his head to make Deidara stop.

"Shino!"

Deidara froze, sitting up. His hands drew away from him, and he stared at him for the longest time. After a while, he bent down, whispering into his ear. "He's not here, yeah."

"I wish he was, damn it!"

Deidara stood, off-put, but smiling nonetheless. "Alright. I'll stop. It's obvious there's only one thing on your mind right now…" He glanced over at the younger man to see him trembling. "…You know…you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. Minus the fact that you hold a dead-end job leading nowhere while I, on the other hand, had dreams of becoming a great artist, yeah."

Kiba said nothing, and the blond went to his dresser, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one. He took a drag, exhaling the smoke into little rings. He stared at them dissolving in the air before he finally sat back down on the bed. "…You should probably leave, yeah? I might not be so willing to stop if you stay here longer."

Slowly, Kiba slid to the edge of the bed and sat up, planting his feet on the ground. His head was a whirl, he couldn't see straight, and now he was stuck in a room with someone who'd already told him his self-control was slipping. That was just what he needed.

He fixed his shirt as best as he could and shrugged his jacket on, stumbling for the door. Before he left, however, Deidara called out from across the studio.

"You might want to talk to Sasori some time. He thought he was straight until he met me."

Something in Kiba's head buzzed, and he knew that was knowledge he'd want to keep for later. Deidara went over, slamming him against the door. He reached into a pocket of the jacket, pulling out the younger man's cell phone and entering in his number in there, figuring at the other's number. He input it into his own cell phone, and opened the door, flipping the younger man's cell phone closed and placing it back in his pocket.

"We may not be the best couple to help you out…but I think we might help in your situation, yeah? I'll send you a text to remind you in case the alcohol affects your memory. Good luck."

––––––––––––––––––

Hana was on the phone with Juugo, at one in the morning. She sighed. "It's so weird. My brother came home after work after that stay over at Shino's house and didn't say a single word. He just left to go to Ice… Even when Akamaru bounded up to him, he could hardly muster a smile or say hello! There's something wrong with him, and it's starting to worry me! Ever since he stayed over at– I may be a bit paranoid, Juugo, but I'm seriously worried about him! I've never been this scared for him before! The last time he acted this strange was after Dad died! No, I don't think Shino did anything since he's straight and all, but with Kiba I never know what to think unless he opens up and talks to me! And he's always been so good at that befo–"

Her wayward brother stumbled in, falling into the couch, and immediately broke down. She gasped, dropping the phone and running over to him, completely forgetting Juugo was still on the line.

"Kiba! Oh my God, what happened!? Kiba, what's wrong!?"

He started to tremble and curled up on the couch. She went to his side, dropping to her knees and nudging his shoulder so she could look at his face. She grabbed hold of his face gingerly, looking him over. She smelled the stench of alcohol and sweat and had to put a hand over her mouth to hold back a sob. "S-Say something, damn it! You've been acting weird ever since you came home!"

Finally, after much crying, Kiba finally stuttered out a desperate, "I'm in deep, Hana! It's all shot to hell! I might as well move back home!"

"Wh-What! No! You've just gotten that job and…and you've started making so many wonderful friends!"

At that word, he recoiled, going back into his fit. She grabbed him by the shoulders, giving him a hard slap in the face. "Damn it, Kiba! Stop these hysterics and tell me what's going on! You're scaring the shit out of me!"

After a while, his tears dried up and he sat up, burying his face in his hands. He said nothing, just shook his head over and over and over again. Finally, he started to speak through gritted teeth.

"Damn it… I'm in deep, Hana… I really don't think there's going back now! I…I went to the club…and…and this guy who'd been trying to sleep with me finally got through…b-but nothing happened. Nothing happened, okay??" He looked up to see her hands over her mouth, tears running down her cheeks. "Nothing happened between us, because I…" He started biting at his fingernails, a habit that he'd developed in high school and squashed in college. "…I wanted it to be him, Hana…" He wiped at his eyes. "I wanted it to be Shino, but I know Shino's straight…and so…" He curled up again, hugging his knees. "I want to go back home to Mom! I want to forget about all of this shit! I don't want to work in that office anymore!"

"K-Kiba…" She wiped the tears from her eyes, sighing, finally calming down, leaning over and placing a hand on his cheek. "Kiba, you don't mean that…"

"I do mean it! I can't forget about him if he's sitting at the desk right across from me!"

"That's just the alcohol talking, Kiba… You're not used to being this drunk so I can see how it all seems logical, but you're thinking irrationally." She smiled, putting her arms around him. "I know you, Kiba. This isn't like you at all… You'll figure something out… I know you will…"

He sobbed. "I just…I just want to see Mom… She'd know what to tell me… She'd know exactly what would make me feel better…"

"You can always ask for a vacation after your birthday, right? We can visit her then. Just the two of us, okay? I'm sure she'd love to celebrate you turning thirty…" She sighed, rocking him back and forth. "How about…you take the day off today? Just call in sick. I can call in sick for you, if you need. It'll give you some time to think, alright?"

After a long moment, he finally calmed down, his muscles relaxing. "Okay… I'll call in sick tomorrow…"

"You mean today. It's one in the morning, Kiba…"

"Right…today… Just…let me go to sleep. I'm so…" He stuttered a little. "I'm j-just so t-t-tired…" She smiled, kissing him on the top of his head. She went to his bedroom, pulled out the blanket in his closet he'd managed to somehow hide in his suitcase on the way over here–it was silly; a simple Pound Puppies blanket that he'd held onto since childhood, but it helped calm him down sometimes. He'd told Dad he'd grown out of it…but every once in a while he'd relapse.

She placed it over him, and he curled up underneath it, splaying his legs out on the couch. Though his legs now stuck out from under it quite far, she tucked him in as best as she could anyway.

He drifted off to sleep, and Akamaru peered over the couch, whining. Hana patted the pup on the head, and he slumped down between the coffee table and the couch, shoving it over a foot or two to make room. He slept there the rest of the night.


	10. Roaches, Go Away!

_Shino needs to be put on display somewhere. For serious. I like the stoic characters in anime the most. _

_For instance: Trowa was the first favorite character of an anime that actually made me want to write about him. He's just such a stoic character with such depth. As far as Gundam Wing goes, he's the most "normal" out of all the boys. He deals with the psychological scars of war like a normal person would. He doesn't go completely psycho like Quatre, isn't pompous and proud like Wufei, doesn't claim he's some kind of death angel like Duo, nor does he laugh whenever he kills people like Heero. Heero and Trowa are my favorites because they're more "real". Quatre is anything but real, despite the fact that he's a sweetie. And I don't care what anyone else says: 03/01 beats 03/04 or 01/02. Duo's just too girl crazy to be gay, yah? Of course, the only thing stopping 01/03 from working is Relena, and I'd rather see Relena get Heero than Trowa._

_And Wufei is a lot like Neji for me. He just…irks me. Though, Wufei is a whole lot more bearable than Neji, but that's only because I like his past. His arranged-wife that died because she was trying to prove she could be just as powerful as a man. His wife (they both hated each other, and she was always yelling at him and he was always kicking her ass) was totally wicked cool. What did Neji have? A wimpy little angst story, that's what. There was no meat in it. Oh? Daddy died? _TOUGH_. Same with half the other characters in Naruto (And practically any other anime out there), and they're nowhere near as bitchy as him. Minus Sasuke, of course._

_(Plus Wufei was a total glasses-wearing, book-reading, flower-loving nerd when he was younger and Neji is _just_ a cunt.)_

_But when it all comes down to it, Wufei is essentially the same as Neji. Except instead of fate, he's always spouting justice._

_I think the thing that bugs me the most about Wufei is the fact that he wears his hair back, and since his hair is the way it is, it always looks like it's pulled back too tight and therefore he's balding prematurely. Ugh. It's worse than Shikamaru's. And Shikamaru doesn't have a stick up his ass even after his hair is pulled back so tightly…_

_There is one thing I love about Wufei though, and it also concerns his past. When Meilan (the wife) died, she was all, "I protected your meadow." And when she died he practically started to cry and was all, "Don't go! You haven't _accepted_ me as your _husband_ yet!" So sad. See, now _that's_ the Wufei I like. Not the anime Wufei, where he's all arrogant and yelling at women and calling them weak. (Though, it's probably just because of his sweet little ass-kicking wife.)_

_Anyone else a Gundam Wing nerd out there? The main reason why I dislike Quatre/Trowa so much is the fact that Trowa looks _exactly_ like Quatre's father minus a moustache. That's just…ew. Not to mention Quatre tried to blow Trowa to pieces and gave him amnesia. Sure Trowa would've forgiven him, but I sure haven't, damn it. The little ZERO-crazed snot…_

_Funny how Quatre was my favorite character until I started seeing all the episodes with Trowa and Heero traveling around Sicily and going to Antarctica and realized Trowa was _so_ much sweeter in his own way… (He installed Heero's favorite weapon–the beam saber–under the little gat when Heero was borrowing Heavyarms–Trowa's Gundam. That's so nice of him. It was all like, "Shit, I'm out of ammo, Trowa!" The gat-and-ammo-piece falls off the arm and wammo! There's the beam saber waiting to be used! "Surprise! Now you've got a sword to fight with instead of that dinky little knife _I_ use when I'm out of ammo! Happy birthday, friend! Kick the Tallgeese's ass!")_

_Oh, Trowa, you're such a sweetie to your friends. After that little motorcycle chase in Sicily, you gave Heero an apple you stole from a street vendor… Though, Wufei totally hates the soup your sister makes. And who wouldn't? It goes straight through you! No wonder you're so laid-back! Oh, well. At least she brews a mean cup of jah-va, as you put it… _

_(And he's voiced by Kirby Morrow! Kirby Morrow's voice was absolutely perfect for him!)_

_But, in regards to the fanfic, I had fun making Shikamaru a vegetarian. Since…you know…bugs and butterflies can be carnivores or herbivores…but deer are strictly herbivores. It's the subtle details like that that make the writing. For instance: Notice how Shino immediately says "us" when he's referring to Kiba and him, when they haven't been friends nearly long enough for people to hear "us" and assume he's talking about the both of them since they're always together or something._

_Is this the first instance of the f-word? If it is, then Shikamaru's the lucky first-user!_

_And I could _totally_ see Shikamaru liking the witty humor in Monty Python skits and movies than in the movies over here–like _Get Smart_. I recently watched _Life of Brian_, and I must say, I liked it a lot more than the_ Grail_. Mainly because that entire chase sequence--with Pilate talking about Biggus Dickus and his wife, Incontinentia Buttocks, and the centurions trying so hard not to giggle like school boys, and the aliens randomly picking him up and crash-landing back in Judea--was pure gold. Anyone ever see that movie? Geez, you can't find humor like in Monty Python skits. Those men are geniuses._

_Oh, and Shikamaru and Chouji don't have separate cars. They carpool in Shika's green Lexus. Chouji just happened to take public transportation to work today._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 10_

He arrived at work on time, as usual. He took the spot at his desk, waiting for the inevitable work he'd be handed by Shikamaru. Sure enough, two minutes later, Shikamaru walked up, rubbing his head.

"Man, did I have a rough night yesterday. Chouji suddenly had the urge to call up…" He looked over to see Neji's desk empty, and one quick scope of the office told him Neji wasn't around anywhere. "…Hinata, and ask how she was doing, and when she didn't pick up the phone, I had to make a beer run so he could drown his sorrows in beer and ice cream. Had to pick up three cartons of Ben and Jerry's! Guy swallowed them up in one night–and forget about me having any! When he gets like that, I just get out of his way. We got so _wasted_. Fell asleep watching _Life of Brian_, and when I woke up, he was at it again! He's probably halfway across town by now, devouring everything in sight! You think he eats a lot right _now_… Wait until you see him depressed like this!"

Shino stared at him for a long time, recapping their afternoon with Chouji that Saturday. "…He didn't seem to…eat much. I mean…as much as he normally eats."

"That's because he switches to sugar when he gets depressed. If we'd stayed there any longer, all the desserts in that store would've been gone and both of us would be out of our paychecks."

"Oh." He grabbed the work in Shikamaru's hands. "I'll get started with that, then."

Shikamaru grabbed it back, starting to get testy. "I never said you could do my work, Aburame. I need something to get my mind off of him right now. He's so…so depressing! Gah! I'm about to just cry thinking about him back at the apartment, drowning his sorrows in all of the candy in the house! Forget about me having a quiet evening after work! I'll be driving around town, picking up apple tarts and cotton candy and ice cream cartons and bags upon bag upon _bags_ of snack size Snickers! Geez!"

Shino grabbed the document back. "Why don't you do some relaxing at work then…?"

Shikamaru grumbled, grabbing it back. "No thanks. Right now, I'd rather be working. That's the only way I'll even be _able_ to relax…" That's when he looked around. "Geez. Where's Inuzuka? At least then I'd see a happy face around here… That man's like a puppy…" He grumbled even more as he went back to his desk, and Shino just stared at the wall of the cubicle, as if he'd suddenly develop X-ray vision and look through it to see Shikamaru shoving the work off to the side and playing internet chess again.

That didn't happen, and he started to hear typing–actual _typing_–from Shikamaru's cubicle. His eyes widened. Shikamaru must've been _really_ upset if he was actually _working_… He went back to his desk, wondering why on earth Shikamaru had even bothered to come over here just to _talk_. He never did that before…

The notion that Shikamaru was actually seeing him as a _friend_ worked its way into his head, and he couldn't help but smile. Kiba had been right all along. All he needed to do was talk to these people more and he really _could_ make friends. Speaking of Kiba…

He looked up, around, and that shiver down his spine that happened every time Kiba happened to be walking behind him didn't go off. He stood, peering over the cubicle wall as best as he could–Kiba wasn't at his desk…

He caught sight of someone over by the water cooler, downing water like it was some kind of tonic to poison, and he noticed the round face, the suit-coat that was open, since it was just a bit too small. Oh! He leaned over to Shikamaru's desk. "Hey, Looks like Chouji made it to work… He's over by the water cooler, drinking _lots_ of water."

Shikamaru looked up, staring at him with wide eyes. "The water cooler? Oh, great! Why didn't _I_ think of that?? Geez! I thought my head was going to explode!" He shot up, dashing off. Shino watched him go over to the water cooler and start the same process Chouji was going through. He squinted his eyes, walking over.

He brightened his face, trying to seem as friendly as Kiba.

"Uh…h-hey, guys!"

Chouji looked over, giving him a pained and depressed look. "Oh…hi Shino… Could you keep your voice down?" He downed one cup of water and went back for fifths. "I've got a dick of a hang-over…"

He looked over at Shikamaru, who was going back for seconds, before he snickered. The two looked at him, and he sighed. "You should try coffee instead. I've heard that helps…"

The two looked at each other, and Shikamaru just said, "Break room," and soon both were darting off down the office, nearly knocking into the copy machine, off towards the break room. As Chouji ran, he accidentally bumped into it–the copy machine–and soon papers started spewing out.

One man walked over to the demon-possessed machine. "Oh, Jesus Christ! I thought the damn thing was jammed! I was trying to figure out what was wrong all day Monday!"

Shino stifled a laugh and went back to his desk. About twelve minutes later, he looked up again. Kiba still wasn't there. An hour–no Kiba. Shikamaru and Chouji came by, heads still pounding. He gave them a few tablets of Aspirin he still had lying around after that ulcer had been developing. Another hour–still no signs of Kiba. Finally, around lunch time, he gave up.

Shikamaru walked up, grabbing his arm. "You're coming to lunch with us, Shino."

Chouji gave him a small smile, grabbing his other arm. "Yeah, we need to thank you for helping our heads stop hurting…"

––––––––––––––––

There they were, at the Baked Alaska. Every once in a while Shikamaru would slap Chouji's hand when he started looking wistfully over at the dessert selection. Shino stared at the two in front of him for a moment, removing the bun on his sandwich and picking the lettuce off, eating it bit by bit. He stared at it for the longest time, watching the lettuce leaf get smaller and smaller.

"You upset about something?"

Shino looked up to see Chouji looking at him with a concerned look on his face. He shrugged. "Not really. Why do you ask?"

Chouji took a big gulp of the lemonade he'd gotten. "You just look upset about something." He looked over at Shikamaru. "Speaking of, why haven't I seen Kiba anywhere? Is he sick or something?"

"I know. I looked around for him this morning, but he wasn't there. Usually he gets there shortly after Shino, but when I walked by his desk an hour ago, he still wasn't there. I hope he isn't sick. That'd mean he'd probably be at home all alone…"

"Yeah. Maybe we should go visit him on our break… We've got enough time, don't we?"

"We don't know where he _lives_, Chou."

"I'm sure Shino knows. Both of those guys are friends, right? Weren't they at the park together… With that…dog… Oh! I heard dog was a delicacy in China… Think about how many mouths that dog could feed! Did you see the size of that thing? It was about the size of a small taxi!"

Shikamaru chuckled. "It could probably feed thirty children, but if you ate it, you'd still have room for seconds…"

"Hey! I may like food, but I'm not going to go eat a dog! Especially if it belongs to a co-worker!"

"Enough about the dog. Weren't we talking about Kiba?"

Shino narrowed his eyes at the sandwich, as if it was the sandwich's idea for that topic of conversation. Finally, his head shot up. "Shikamaru told me Hinata didn't call you back."

They both suddenly turned to him, as if remembering he was there. Chouji processed the words…and then his face started to fall–slowly at first, but soon his lips were in a deep frown, his eyes starting to water. Shikamaru shot Shino a look, and Shino started to realize he could've chosen a much better topic of conversation. At least, one that wouldn't end in tears.

"Sh-Shikamaru told you that…" He turned to Shikamaru, tears starting to fall. "Why'd you tell him that? He didn't need to know… Sh-Shi-Shikamaru! Wh-Why did you tell him that!?"

His best friend shot a look back at Shino. "Because I didn't think he'd go telling someone… I needed to vent, and he's the only one in the office I trust not to go flapping their mouths."

Shino opened his mouth. "You could've told Sasuke."

Chouji turned back to him. "No way! Sasuke knows who Hinata is! You know what he'd do?? He'd go straight to Neji and tell him!"

Shikamaru laughed. "I think you're being irrational, Chouji. Sasuke would never tell anyone anything. He hates people, remember?"

"It doesn't matter!"

Shikamaru sighed, standing up. "Dinner!"

Chouji immediately stopped, his stomach letting out a loud growl. Shikamaru gave him a calm smile. "That always shuts you up. Anyway." He pointed to Shino. "We'll invite Shino out tonight. How about we both take you out and help you forget about Hinata for a while? We can go to a bar or something. Doesn't that sound fun?"

Chouji glanced over at the taller man before looking back at Shikamaru, smiling a little. "…A bar? Really? Can we go to the one that serves really great nachos?"

"Yes. We can go to that one."

"Okay!"

Shino just stared at the two, wondering why _he_ had to be dragged off to a bar. He wanted to go home! He had groceries to get! The roaches had finished off those chips and he accidentally left out a pizza and they climbed all over it, claiming it as their own! He had no food for the rest of the week!

"Do I have to go?"

Chouji looked at him, giving him a smile. "W-Well…yeah. You're our friend, right?" His face fell. "I mean…you talk to us on a regular basis…and you went with us to lunch that one time…and you were going to see that movie with us on Saturday…"

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, I can always just pick you up after work. Just got my car waxed…" He smiled, proud. "Now it's the shiniest green on the highway…"

Shino smiled. "Okay. I'll go…" So he was now Chouji's friend, too? Well, he'd made two friends in one day. That wasn't bad, considering the fact his means of making friends was out sick. He opened his mouth, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.

"Oh, I better call Kiba. He might want to come with us…"

Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged looks, before they both turned back to him. It was Chouji who spoke first. "Does Kiba actually drink beer? I always forget he's almost thirty…"

Shino nodded, finding it off-putting when the home phone didn't pick up. "Yeah. He was over at my house last night. We both shared a beer, until the roach fell in his…"

The two friends exchanged slightly disgusted looks, before Chouji turned back to him, smiling. "Why was he over at your house??"

Shino dialed Kiba's cell phone number and waited for it to ring. "Uh…his sister was having a date and needed him out of the house for the night."

"Cool! So if Shikamaru brings a girl home, I can just crash with you??" Shikamaru let out a silent "Yes," and a fist pump, though neither of the two saw or heard it. "Shino… Hey…Hey Shino…"

Shino looked up when the phone failed to be picked up, and glared. "What? I'm trying to listen for him picking up…"

"If Shikamaru brings a girl home, can I just crash with you??"

Shino put the phone back in his pocket. "No! Why would I go and do that??"

"But…but you let Kiba crash at your place…"

"That's a different case. I didn't know his sister."

Shikamaru gave him a dirty look, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ah geez. It would be a lot of help if Chouji could crash at your place. That's the very reason why I haven't been able to ask any women out at the office! Do you know how embarrassing it is living with Chouji!? I have to wait until he's dead asleep before I pull out the porn and masturbate, damn it!"

"Yeah! Wait…" Chouji looked back at his friend, horrified. "What!? When did you get porn!?"

"I've had it since college, you idiot! Don't tell me you didn't have any! I had to buy my own after I moved out of the house and Dad's shit wasn't around!"

"Why can't I get a look-see??"

Shikamaru went red, heading for the door. "Don't be disgusting, Chouji! You have a fianc–damn it!" Chouji's face fell again and he followed him out the door.

"You didn't have to bring that up again, Shikamaru! I still haven't gotten over her!"

"Whatever. I'm keeping my mouth _shut_."

Shino watched them go, wondering how on earth they got along together so well. It was always awkward with Kiba, though he figured that was mainly because he had no idea how to interact with people. He chuckled, standing up.

His face fell as he followed them back to the office. Why hadn't Kiba picked up the phone? He was pretty sure Kiba would have picked up the phone eagerly…

––––––––––––––

He got to the office, and Shikamaru headed to the restrooms. While he was gone, Chouji sidled over to him. "Hey, Shino…" He tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it, Chouji?"

"Could you do me a big favor?"

"What's that?"

"Well…Shikamaru's been eyeing TenTen for quite some time now…and I figure he should get a chance to ask her out… Every time I ask him to go up and ask her to come to lunch with us and the other guys, he always refuses. Do you think you could ask her for me? I don't think she trusts me or Shikamaru… She's always giving us weird looks. But…you know…last time she was over here, she made sure to walk by his desk a few times and check him out…so I was thinking maybe she just didn't trust _me_… I figured she'd gladly come if he asked then…, but he won't, so I was wondering if you'd ask her to come."

Shino turned around. "Have you ever thought that most of the people giving you guys weird looks are only doing it because they think you're both gay together?"

Chouji turned red, narrowing his eyes, his lip curling in disgust. "Oh, don't be gross, Shino. We're just friends… But…could you? Please? For Shikamaru?? He hasn't had a date since _high school_!"

Shino sighed. "Alright. But you owe me."

Chouji grumbled, walking off. "Geez, I already bought you a sandwich… What else do you want? A three course meal?? I've got to eat, too…"

Shino sighed, standing up. He walked out of the office, to the door, out of it and into the hallway. He walked past the desk, where Ino was sitting and filing her nails. She looked over at him.

"I see you went to lunch with the two gays. I suppose they're giving you advice now?"

Shino turned to him. "Oh, shut up, Ino. They're not gay, alright?? They're just best friends from childhood! Chouji's even got a fiancée!"

Her eyes went wide, and she quickly went back to her computer, typing up something in a flourish. Shino just groaned, walking to the elevators. Great…she was probably rushing off to go tell her friends…

Regardless, he went to the elevator and down one floor to the woman's division. There was a woman at the front desk, one with her hair pulled back tightly and wearing thick, bottle-rimmed glasses. He walked past her to the door. Before he could even open it, she fell out of her chair. He turned, looking at her worriedly.

She shot up just as quick, her cheeks blaring red. "I knew it! I knew my Shikamaru wasn't gay!" She glanced at Shino, her face darkening. "Oh my! D-Did you… Don't tell anybody!"

He just shook his head and opened the door, finding it twice as quiet as their offices. Though, there was one woman by the front of the door who shouted out into the hallway. "Tell who, Shiho!? I could hear you all the way in here, damn it! Keep your voice down! Besides, everyone knows you like that guy! You only mumble it every time he comes in here to get doughnuts when his fat friend eats them all up there!"

"Hey, I never said anything about his friend being fat, you jerk! I think Chouji's got a nice weight, and Shikamaru thinks so, too!"

"Oh, of course you think that about Chouji! If you didn't, Shikamaru would hate you!"

The woman got up from her desk and stomped past Shino, ready to start a fight. He ducked away as fast as possible, not wanting to get into a cat fight. He'd never actually witnessed one, but his father had once told him it was worse than a fight with four guys involved.

He sidled into the office, passing by the desk of Haku–the office's only transgender employee. Haku looked up at him, smiling. "Oh? Are you here for TenTen?" He stared at the man…er…woman and gave him…er…her a strange look.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

Haku grinned, pointing to the end of the room, where all of the offices were. "She's back there. She has her own private office now. I kind of miss having her next to me… She always gave me the support I needed…"

He just nodded, waving good-bye and walking off back there. He entered her office, and she looked up from her computer. Her eyes were puffy, like she'd either been crying or not getting enough sleep. She immediately wiped at her cheeks, which looked a bit wet.

"Oh? Sh-Shino… What are you doing here? S-Sit down." She smiled, pointing to one of the chairs in front of her desk.

He took a seat, and spied a few pictures turned upside down. He reached over, picking them up. She just watched him, sucking in a breath. He looked at the picture, at a teenager with bright eyes and a shiny bowl hair cut. He winced a little. "Uh…is he…er…" He didn't want to ask; the boy looked pretty weird…

She snatched it back from him, slamming it down on the desk, face-down. "A friend from way back when. It's not important!" She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair a little. "S…Sorry about that… I just…don't like talking about him…"

Shino cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out to a bar tonight."

Her breathing halted and she sat back up straight, staring at him. "…B–" She found her voice, her cheeks flushing. "Wh-Why?" She laughed. "Why d-do you want to take me out to a bar? Y-You saw how I acted last Friday! I don't think…"

"I think it was because Ino and Karin were there, actually."

"I…" She laughed, starting to sound slightly manic. "I have nothing against them. Why…Wh-Why would you think that?"

"You said your medication had stopped working earlier in the week…Well…I'm sure you started freaking out, and since they were there it made it worse. You know how they talk…"

She looked down at her fingers, bringing one up to her mouth and chewing on it. "…N-No… I…I was actually nervous because they kept talking about how they used to date you…" She glanced at him, meeting his eyes. "So…if I go out to this bar… You won't try anything? I…I know self-defense. I took taijutsu up until high school."

Shino smiled. "No, I won't. See, Chouji and Shikamaru will be there. Chouji wanted me to invite you."

She paled a little. "Wait, this isn't going to be some kind of strange double date, is it?"

Shino narrowed his eyes. "Why does everyone think both of those two are gay? I mean, I'll admit I thought they were at first, but Chouji has a fiancée and Shikamaru just never gets dates because he can't bring them back to his apartment…"

She nodded. "Shikamaru seems the type…"

"What…type?"

"It's always the quiet ones…"

"What? He's louder than me. You mean he's a closet pervert? He's totally _not_ a pervert. You know how I know? Because…" He suddenly remembered the porn, and decided against what he'd been about to say. He was going to tell her that when Chouji asked to see his porn, he refused since Chouji had a fiancée, but that wouldn't prove his point at all…despite the fact that most guys wound up looking at porn. He couldn't help but wonder why _he_ didn't look at porn… That was probably because every time he looked at it, he couldn't help but wonder how most people found any of it sexually stimulating in the least…

She leaned onto the desk a little, waiting. "Because…"

He sputtered. "Because he's just like me! He respects women and shit."

She smiled. "Respects women and shit… Well…alright. I guess I'll take your word for it. He's really not the one I'm interested in anyway."

Shino stared at her, his jaw almost dropping. He _totally_ didn't expect her to be into _him_. "What? You're interested in Chouji?"

She giggled. "_Chouji_?? Oh, you're too funny, Shino. But yeah, I think it'll be fun to go along with you." She looked up at him. "What bar are you going to?"

Shino shrugged. "Shikamaru knows where it is. He might be able to give you the directions. You should ask him."

She gave him a skeptic look. "Alright. Could you make sure to tell him to look for my car in the parking garage? It's white, and the license plate is 639JZ6. I'll be here pretty late. Around seven, so just tell him to wait for me to show up if I'm not there. I'll get the directions then." She sighed, like it was something she wasn't looking forward to, and went back to her computer.

Shino watched her, barely blinking. She looked back at him, smiled a little. "Something else you wanted to ask me?"

He shook his head. "See…Shikamaru doesn't know you'll be there…"

Her face fell. "Then why'd you tell me he'd give me the directions? Why doesn't he know I'll be there? What kind of outing are you three planning on? Is it his _birthday_? Are you expecting me to just jump right out of a cake or something?? I'm not a hooker!"

"Well…Chouji asked me to ask you since he knew you wouldn't agree to it if he asked. Shikamaru's interested in you, but he just doesn't know how to approach you or anything… So, I just thought if you told him you heard we were going out and asked him if you could come along or something, then he'd gladly let you come…"

She stood up, nodding her head. "Alright. That's what you want me to do, right? I'll go do that. I'll just _invite myself_." She laughed. "Shino, people don't just _walk up and ask to be invited places_! I mean, don't you know that?"

His face darkened. "N-Not really. I haven't had a friend since high school. After I moved away from home, I just stopped talking to people."

She sighed. "Look, you just tell him you need the directions, and you can bring them to me, alright? I'll show up and everything will be fine. He'll probably just ask me to join if I show up at the bar anyway…" She groaned, going back to her desk.

"Right… I can't believe I didn't think of that…"

––––––––––––––––––

Chouji looked up for the umpteenth time that night, up from his nachos, which were _delicious_. Shino was never partial to cheese, but the nachos were _excellent_. Of course, Chouji had begged him to try one. At first he'd been skeptical, but after he tried it, he wished he'd ordered them.

Shikamaru looked up from his beer, glaring at Chouji. "Hinata's not going to just magically decide to come to a bar, Chouji. Why do you keep looking up?" He turned to Shino. "And _you_. Why'd you even ask for the directions? I told you we didn't mind driving you out here, but you still wanted those damn directions…"

Shino blinked, taking a swig of his beer. "…Well, I wanted to be sure. You know…just in case I wanted to come back on my own some time…"

Shikamaru slammed the beer on the table, taking a big bite of the nachos he'd ordered form himself–and was now being quickly devoured by his friend. He swatted at Chouji's hand. "Quit it. Mine have no meat. Eat yours, not mine…" He leered at Shino. "I could've given it to you after. I know you two are planning something. Why did you want the directions, damn it? The last time Chouji looked up like this all the time, it was after he begged me to come to prom with him, and he wound up setting me up with some freaky girl I'd never even seen before!"

Shino just glanced over at Chouji, and the man shrugged, unaware that he was so transparent. After a while, he finally looked over at Shikamaru. "We asked TenTen to come and she needed the directions."

Shikamaru stood, ready to bolt. "You _what_!? I don't want to talk to TenTen! Shino said she was unbalanced before! I'm not interested in…" His eyes immediately went to the door and he fell silent, his mouth hanging open. Chouji looked up and followed where he was looking, letting a big grin split across his face.

"Oh! It's TenTen! She looks pretty good with her hair down. I wonder why she always keeps it pulled back at the office…"

She spied them, walking over toward them and taking a spot next to Shino…who was luckily sitting right next to Shikamaru. Shikamaru was still standing, even after she'd sat, and soon pink made its way to his cheeks. "H-Hi…TenTen…"

"Hello, Mr. Nara." She nodded at him curtly, shooting a quick look at Shino. "Shino, er…would you mind telling me what's on the menu…?"

Shino leaned back, glancing at the menu, then at Shikamaru, who was still staring at her, slack-jawed. "Shikamaru might help you with that more than me. He's been here before. He'll probably know what's better…"

She leaned over the table. "Chouji, d-do you mind?"

Chouji looked back at Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, what's the best thing on the menu? This is my first time here…"

She stood, sighing. "I'll just go over and ask the bartender what's better."

Shikamaru sat down, bitter. He listened to the clicking of her heels as they made their way over to the bar, until finally he couldn't hear them over the music. "Chouji…Shino…the effort was nice…but isn't it obvious she's not interested in me?"

His best friend blinked. "Well…I don't get it. She's always walking by your desk and checking you out whenever she makes her way over to Jiraiya's office or to Neji's cubicle. She goes out of her way to do it, too!"

Shikamaru groaned. "Oh, you're right Chouji. She walks by my desk…but she's not checking _me_ out, you idiot! She's checking out Shino!"

Both eyes turned to their new friend sitting innocently, munching on a burger. He stared at them. "Wh-What? You think she's interested in _me_? Why would she be interested in _me_? I'm a recluse!"

Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over the other. "Tell me…how did you find out she was unbalanced? Did you use to _date_ her at one point? I remember hearing rumors that you asked her out once."

Shino shook his head. "Karin was the only unbalanced woman I ever dated. TenTen rejected me outright. She laughed and told me to get serious. I swear, we never dated. And even if we did, my girlfriends wind up hating me afterwards. I found out she was unbalanced when she ran out after Karin and Ino and us went out to dinner with her."

"…Us…?"

"Oh, Kiba and I." Both men exchanged looks, but Shino didn't pay attention and continued to speak. "Well, she ran out, and I ran out after to see if she was alright. Apparently she takes medication and the past few medications she'd taken stopped working, I guess. At least, that's what she said. I ended up paying for a cab to take her home and left."

Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah, and now it seems she likes you." He groaned, looking at Chouji. "See? This is why dating is troublesome. Women are so fickle. Their hearts change so damn easily, too!"

TenTen walked back, holding a salad. "There's too much meat on the menu. They need to make it more available to vegetarian customers… Did you know they even put egg in the salad? Who puts _egg_ in a salad?"

Shikamaru stared at the food. Sometimes he ordered a salad, but he wasn't so picky as to leave the eggs out. He had a feeling he was about to have a run-in with a vegan. "Who cares? It's the only vegetarian-safe dish on the menu. It's the only thing I can eat when I come here. Either that or the nachos, minus the beef…" He showed her the nachos he had, looking slightly hopeful, hoping she wasn't _actually_ a vegan.

She shot him a look. "Oh? How can you eat cheese? That's an animal-product. How can anyone eat eggs? That's potential life!"

He glared–yep, she was a vegan. "Because I'm a vegetarian. Not a complete _vegan_."

She gave him a sour look. "So you think it's okay to take milk from animals that need to use it for their own young? You're cruel…"

Chouji spoke up. "Wait, aren't those two the same things?"

She wailed on him verbally. "It's the difference between killing off just animals or killing off their chances of producing more of the species as well! Of course there's a difference, you idiot! Your friend's a vegetarian and he didn't even bother to explain the difference to you? What kind of idiot does that!? What if you brought home food to your wife who was vegan and it turns out you'd gotten a product that uses beef broth!?"

Shikamaru gave her a look. "That's _enough_. What's the difference if I eat _one_ egg for breakfast? One egg that isn't even fertilized? One egg that doesn't _need_ to be fertilized? They _breed_ chickens to kill them. I'd rather eat an unfertilized egg than give it some sort of chance of being fertilized and growing up to be killed, wouldn't _you_? Sheesh. All women are alike…" He went back to his nachos, staring at them but not eating. "I suppose you're one of those types that believe abortion isn't justifiable in any case… How will you feel when your daughter gets pregnant at thirteen and you don't believe in abortion so you have to rip that child from her hands just to make sure she finishes her education?"

TenTen stood up. "I don't…I don't feel comfortable with you. I almost didn't _come_! I knew that was a mistake from the beginning!" She ran to the bathroom, and both men shot Shikamaru a look that could freeze fire and melt ice all at once.

Chouji sighed. "Shikamaru, you went too far. How could you ruin it? You'll have no chance with her now…"

He glared. "I didn't ruin shit, Chouji. She's interested in Shino; I had no chance from the beginning." He pushed his nachos away. "I can't even eat this, I'm so upset. I'll bet she even refuses to eat honey because it works the poor little bees to death. Vegans make me sick…"

Shino blinked. "…What made you want to be a vegetarian in the first place?"

"Well, my dad would go hunting, and he'd bring the meat from his kill home and everything. I didn't ever have a problem with it until he decided to take me hunting one day and I saw him kill a buck. We went by this guy who cut it up and everything, and the door in the back swung open and I saw them hanging them on hooks and gutting them, like that made it any better. It was disgusting. I don't care if she says she wants to preserve life or some bullshit like that. She hasn't actually _witnessed_ something getting gutted before. She's probably one of those ones that learned about it in college and started feeling sorry for all the animals. Life is life. I'll eat a fucking egg if I want to, damn it."

He then looked over at Shino. "Why the hell would she even use a wife as an example? It's like she knows Chouji had a fiancée…"

Chouji went silent at the word "had", and Shino shook his head, flustered. Shikamaru gave him an accusing look. "You bastard. I thought we could trust you with that secret. Not even _Kiba_ has told anyone yet."

He turned red, frowning. "TenTen thought you guys were gay. I thought it'd be better if she knew you weren't…"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, I guess there's that, but it doesn't matter to me if people think I'm gay. I could care less."

"How are you so calm? Half the people at the office think you and Chouji are a couple!"

Chouji took a large bite of his nachos and shook his head. "So? I don't care if they do. I care if my _friends_ think that, but perfect strangers don't really matter… Men shouldn't have to worry about people thinking they're gay as long as they know they aren't…"

Shikamaru nodded. "I know what I am. People thinking I'm gay doesn't bother me because I know they're wrong. It's the people who are closet homosexuals who care, in my opinion. They're afraid of people telling them that because they're afraid they'll be right." He shot a smile over at Shino, almost knowingly. "If you hadn't dated Karin or Ino, I would've thought you were gay." He leaned over. "But TenTen likes you _now_. You were interested in her, right? What's stopping you? Go for it!"

Shino went back to his burger, taking a bite. He really wished Kiba were here. If Kiba changed the subject, it wouldn't matter. But if he changed the subject now, Shikamaru and Chouji would start in on him. He smiled. "It wouldn't be right… You like her, Shikamaru…"

The man just shrugged his shoulders. "I don't care. She's a vegan and unbalanced. She's about as attractive to me as a dead fish."

Chouji snorted. "Nice analogy, Shikamaru…"

"That's _metaphor_. She isn't actually a dead fish, nor does she share anything with it. I was just saying she was one to show how unattractive I find her." He turned to Shino, quirking a brow. "But I'm sure you find her plenty attractive, right?"

Shino blushed. "W-Well…as much as the next girl…"

"What? Not all girls look the same. Some are prettier than others."

"I mean she's average! That's what I mean." He was starting to get uncomfortable. He never knew having friends meant being put into delicate situations like this. He couldn't say one word without them taking it out of context. Man, he _really_ wished Kiba were here. Kiba could've lightened the mood considerably and made him feel at least a _little_ more comfortable talking about the subject of dating.

Shikamaru shot Chouji a look, and Chouji frowned. "Shikamaru, stop messing with his head."

Shino blurted it out. "What? Why the hell are you messing with my head!?"

Chouji stared at him, a slow smile creeping onto his face. He looked quite surprised. "W-Woah. Shikamaru, look! He's actually _sweating_." He laughed. "This is better than your normal work! Usually they tell you to piss off! They don't get nearly as flustered!"

"Work!? You mean he does this for kicks!? What the hell you sh–"

TenTen fell back into her chair, sighing. She appeared somewhat calm, though her make-up was a bit smudged around her eyes. She went back to her salad, eating it fairly fast. Shikamaru watched her, growing a little guilty. "Hey…are you alright?"

She snapped. "I'm fine! What makes you think I'm not?"

"…Your mascara is smudged…"

She put her fork down, chewing a little and swallowing. Then, she looked straight into his eyes. "Are these the eyes of someone who is upset?" There was a slight twitch in her eyebrows, and Shikamaru saw all he needed to know.

"Yes. Those are the eyes of someone who is upset. You nearly broke your mask just now."

"I'm not wearing a mask!" She went back to her salad, eating even faster than before. "Why would I need to wear a mask? I'm perfectly fine. Nothing you said made me upset in the slightest. Sure, it made me uncomfortable, but that's only because of your freaky eyes. You have the scariest lack of concern for those around you, Nara. Did you know that?"

He frowned. "I'm concerned about you, aren't I? What the hell is with you putting up this front? You're among people who wouldn't possibly let this out around the office. Why are you so closed off? It's no wonder everyone talks about you!"

She put her fork down. "You know…I know that people talk about me. People _always_ talk! Even the people that seem nice are hiding things from me, right? Ino seems like a nice enough person if you got to know her, but she's such a gossip! The only one in that damn office I feel I can actually talk to is Haku! You don't understand what it's like having my job! You've never had any sort of responsibility put on your shoulders, have you!? Even now you live with Chouji because he's been your friend for forever and you can't bear to try and live on your own! You're even relying on him to get me over here so you can ask me out! Well just hurry up and do it! Ask me out so I can reject you like I do to all the other men at the fucking office!"

He stared at her, his eyes growing wide. "…I'd ask you if you were forgetting to take your pills, but it's obvious you have just by listening to how you're talking."

She didn't say another word, she didn't even flinch; she simply went back to her salad, growing incredibly silent. The men watched her for a moment, and Chouji sniffled. "Geez, you must be going through so much… Man…It's just like Hinata…" He turned to Shikamaru. "S-Sorry I'm breaking down like this, but…but I need to go to the restroom…"

Shikamaru stood, grabbing his friend's arm. "That's fine, Chouji. I'll just take you home, okay? Shino can get home on his own." He looked back at Shino, and Shino nodded his head.

Then, both of them left.

TenTen sighed, finally letting a few tears fall. "Shit. I'm terribly sorry I ruined this dinner for you, Shino… I'm sure they were nice and all…but…I just get so uncomfortable around men. I hate it. Especially when they show interest in me. I'm always terrified it's all a lie…"

Shino looked down at his half-eaten burger, starting to get uncomfortable himself. He started to mumble. "But…why? Why do you get uncomfortable around men? They're usually genuinely interested in you…"

"Fine. I'll tell you. Do you remember that picture in my office? Well…I was dating him for two years. His name was Rock Lee, and I knew him from childhood. He was in my taijutsu classes. Well, when I found out he was going to the same high school as me, I was so happy. I really liked him, but he was obsessed with some girl named Sakura. We grew up in this city, all three of us. She was always rejecting him, and I was always there to help him feel better. Eventually, after I got out of college and started to work, I got a job working at Tsunade's Health and Beauty Products… We started dating after that, and he said he'd gotten over her… Until she started working there, too. He visited me every day, gave me flowers _every_ day, and then he'd run off. Well, one day I saw him talking to _her_. She…She never really looked happy to see him, more tolerable at best…but still…he was _talking_ to her. It got to the point that I couldn't work with her anymore. Every time he'd come by and bring me flowers, I always thought he was talking to her, even if he had to leave immediately after." She sighed. "So…I quit and joined Jiraiya's magazine."

"What happened to him? Did you dump him at least?"

"Of course I did. But not until I realized that the reason he never brought me flowers to me at the office was because _she_ wasn't working with me. I just…" She sighed. "I need to go take my medication. I know I'm not supposed to, but…I can always start early."

"Wait, you're not on them yet?"

"I picked them up on Sunday, but my therapist says he'd rather I wait until the weekend before I take them, to see how they'll affect me. I made it three days, but I don't think I can take it anymore…" She dug around into her purse until she pulled out a pill bottle. She read the bottle, taking out one capsule and swallowing it. "I'd like to go home now. You mind?"

Shino shook his head, standing. "It's alright. I can…hail you a cab if you want…"

She smiled. "I'd like that…"

They walked out to a cab, and after a while one stopped. She got in, staring at him for a long time. She smiled. "…Would you care to join me?"

He gulped, looking around, unsure if he should. "Well…it depends on where you're heading… See, I live near the harbor…"

Her face brightened. "Same here. You might as well share the cab fee with me…"

He got in, making sure to take his spot near the window, where he could comfortably watch the city go by. She stayed at her corner, staring out her window. They passed by the park, by the tall building built to commemorate some stupid celebration a couple years back, and finally they reached the harbor.

The cab driver looked back. "Alright, somebody better pay me."

He looked at his surroundings, finding them unfamiliar. "I… Wait, she doesn't live here, does she?"

"How should I know? All I know is she mentioned the harbor."

Shino looked over, and she was unresponsive. "Shit… Just my luck. Wake up! You need to go home, TenTen. Where do you live??" He shook her a bit, pleading desperately in his head for her to wake up, but her breathing was even, she was barely even conscious. He gulped. He had no idea where she lived…so…so he'd have to…

––––––––––––––––––

He grumbled, keeping her up as best as he could. She wasn't fully asleep–just too drugged out to say anything–her feet were moving pretty fine. He sighed, grabbing the keys out of his pocket and leaning her against the wall.

He got them out, turned the key in the lock, and opened the door. "Come on, TenTen. Work with me here. My neighbors already take me for a freak… Don't make them think I drug women and bring them back to my place…"

She mumbled something incoherent and he grabbed her again, leading her inside. Once there, he closed the door behind him with his foot and made his way over to the couch. That was no place for a woman to sleep: even _he_ knew that. A few cockroaches skittered out of the cushions, back to the wall and back to their cracks in the ceiling.

He led her over to his bedroom, sitting her down on the bed. "Give me your feet…" He removed her shoes and lay her down, propping her feet onto the bed. "Geez, Shikamaru was right when he said unbalanced women were troublesome…" He pulled the covers over her and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He snapped his fingers and about ten cockroaches darted out from under the door to his room. "Ah, geez. I knew it! There better not be more of you in there! The last thing I want is for her to freak when she wakes up! It's bad enough she'll wake up in a strange house!" Four more cockroaches darted out from underneath the door, and he sighed, flopping onto the couch.

He couldn't sleep, so he turned the T.V. on. It turned off in an instant, and he groaned. "God damn it, Skipper! I already feel guilty enough about your friend! But Gilligan should've known he wasn't supposed to be anywhere within arms-reach!"

The cockroach looked his way for the longest time before it skittered back up into the crack in the ceiling. He sighed, flipping the T.V. on, changing it to one of the late-night shopping networks. He sighed, glaring at it. There was only one more channel that actually worked, and he hoped _Love Boat _wasn't on.

He changed it, surprised to see his favorite episode of _Family Matters_ playing. "Ah…At least I have one thing going for me… Hey, Urkel! Your favorite show is on!" A cockroach skittered out of the ceiling and settled down on the television screen. It never really watched–it just liked the sounds. Every time Steve spoke, the roach would skitter around in circles, so he figured that was his favorite character…hence the name.

He sat up, taking off his coat and tossing it by the door, but not after he pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number, and the phone picked up.

"Shino?"

"Hey, Hana. I'd like to speak to Kiba…"

"Just a second…" There was some shuffling, and then the phone disconnected. He stared at it for a moment, unsure he heard right. Had she just _hung up on him_? What the hell for??

He groaned. What he wouldn't give to have Kiba to talk to right now… He had a girl in his room, Shikamaru and Chouji were now messing with his head, and he just _had_ to talk to Kiba. He was so used to talking to him now, it was practically killing him to go one day without it.

He called again, and Hana picked up. "Shino, look, he's sick."

"You couldn't just tell me that in the first place?"

"No, because…well, because it doesn't really matter to you."

"It matters plenty when my friend is sick."

"Well, you can't talk to him right– Hey, Hana! Talking to Juugo again?" The second Kiba's voice resounded over the other line, the phone disconnected again. He glared, staring at the phone. Kiba sounded just fine just then!

He glared daggers at the phone, punching in the keys for Kiba's cell phone number. The phone rang three times, and Kiba picked up. "Hey, Shino, buddy! Sorry I wasn't at work today. I actually went to a club after we parted ways the other day. I wound up going back to this woman's house and she got me drunk and tried to sleep with me…"

He froze, suddenly finding something extremely aggravating. "Wh-What!? You got drunk and nearly _raped_? What the hell, Kiba?? Be a little more cautious!"

Kiba's voice trembled. "It wasn't rape or anything… N-Nothing happened, so everything was fine…"

"You got drunk, and somehow nothing happened?? How the hell did that happen!?"

"…She just…stopped."

"Well, how does someone just stop?? Did you tell her to stop!?"

He chuckled. "M-More or less…"

"More or less!? What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Nothing. I'm fine, so there's nothing wrong, alright? Sheesh. You're acting just like Hana when she found out. I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself, alright? I mean, why the hell are you getting so worked up over this?"

"You were nearly raped!"

"I was not! I knew him!"

"Him!?"

"Uh…I got to go now."

The phone cut off, and Shino pulled it away from his ear, glaring. What the hell!? He'd gotten so into the conversation he'd forgotten Kiba was gay in the first place! Why was he surprised when he said 'him'? Maybe it was due to the fact that a thought of a man raping him was ten times worse than a woman…? He had no idea. Something like anger rose in him, and he had half a mind to call him back and tell the douche bag TenTen was over at his house.

How the hell that would get back at Kiba, he could only wonder. All he knew was that he'd never gotten that worked up over anything in his life.


	11. Lie Next To Me pt2

_I hate chatspeak, by the way. But it's so much easier to type like that when texting, isn't it? I tend to use the same grammar and spelling I use when writing normally, though when I want to send something fast, I'll use 2 for two and skip out on the punctuation…_

_By the way–the chapter titles are much like Is There a Ghost–based off of a song. But it's not by Band of Horses. It's by The Blakes. Pretty cool song, actually. Not as cool as Stars and Boulevards, by Augustana. Or I Wish It Would Rain, by Wreckless Eric. Or Our Swords, by Band of Horses. But still, it's pretty cool.  
_

_So anytime you see a regular non-exclamation titled chapter, it's a song title. And it'll most like have a pt1 or pt2 with it._

_This chapter was actually going to be the last chapter, but I decided I'd like to show Shino off a little in the chapter after one that centered around Kiba. We'll just sandwich some hetero-love between two chapters of gay. (Plus it matches the last two-parter.)_

_Can you believe I started to write this chapter before the other one? That's why I had to scramble to figure out how Kiba could've missed Shino's calls. I decided on giving Akamaru something to jam to, though. I'm not really into bands like The Chemical Brothers, but I will admit some of their stuff is pretty neat. I could see Kiba listening to stuff like trip hop and club-music. I mean, he's a club-hopper, right? Ha ha. Actually, Neji's more of the club-fiend in this universe. Kiba just frequents Ice. And couldn't you all see Neji being a total badass at raving? What with his Palm Technique? He'd blow people's minds!_

_Oh, and as for the last chapter and TenTen's past: I'm sorry if I made Rock Lee sound like a son of a bitch and made Sakura sound like a total bitch-face. I didn't mean to. I mean, we all know she's far more bearable than Ino, right? I can really only ever stand her for humor purposes, though. So this is one of my first one where she's got more of a serious role… It's tough writing about her instead of Hinata. Ugh. I like writing Hinata more than Sakura. And Ino, for that matter. TenTen will always be my favorite, though. :D Oh, and Rock Lee is probably–besides Chouji–one of the nicest guys in the show, so I apologize for making him sound like a shithead, too. But trust me, they both get nicer in the chapter after this. (Yes. That means Sakura will be making an appearance.)_

_There's some slight spoilers for Kankurou and his puppets, so if you don't know about where he got them, deal with it. I can't really take it out, since it's imperative to understanding how Sasori's views on art differ with Deidara's and is necessary on his views in general._

_Um…and I'm not quite sure what the purpose of sanding metal would be… Perhaps trying to make it look aged? Whatever. Just roll with Sasori. He's an artist, and artists are always…weird._

_Oh…and about Sasori's past. I don't want to say what's different with my version of his past because it might spoil Shippuden for too many people. I'm trying to remember if the old lady was his grandmother or Gaara's grandmother. Ah, well. It doesn't really matter does it? Sasori looks like he could be Gaara's long-lost father anyway…_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 11_

He woke up at noon the next day, feeling like shit. His head was throbbing, pulsating, pounding. He put a hand to it and Akamaru barked happily as he trotted over. The sharp jolt of a knife rending his skull in twain shot through the middle of his head, and he groaned.

Akamaru whimpered, sidling up closer and putting his face in Kiba's chest. Kiba patted the dog lightly, standing up slowly. Where was he last night? How'd he wind up back home? Akamaru bounded into the kitchen and came back with his favorite jacket in his large jaws.

He remembered he'd talked with Deidara for a while, and he'd agreed to… His face paled, and the dog bumped his head into his chest until Kiba finally turned to him.

"Akamaru…" He whispered. "This isn't time for a walk… I think I might have herpes…"

The dog bumped into his chest again, and Kiba grabbed the jacket from the mutt's hands, thoroughly aggravated–his head was hurting, and he couldn't even remember what he'd done with Deidara or how he got home. "Enough with that, boy!"

The sounds reverberating off the windows caused another shockwave of pain, and he doubled over. A small object clattered against the floor and his head throbbed again. He turned in pain, seeing his cell phone lying on the ground. He picked it up, looking at it: He'd received a message.

He looked over at Akamaru, who nudged his neck affectionately. He smiled. "Sorry I yelled at you, boy. I thought you wanted a walky." He looked at the message, his jaw dropping. How had Deidara gotten his number??

'Nuthin hapnd btwen us, yea. Talk to sasori. Hell help w/ ur strayt problem. And i ttly dont have hrpes"

He stared at the message. Sasori…Sasori… The blond had mentioned something about a man named Sasori earlier… He lived in the uppermost studio in that building Deidara lived in, didn't he? He gulped. How could he possibly help with his 'straight' problem, anyway? The man didn't know anything about Shino…

Either way, the prospect that he could be of any help sure did give him the incentive to down a few pills of Aspirin and leave the house. He made sure to play with Akamaru a little bit before he left–as much as his head would allow–and soon he was walking out of the building.

Up on the topmost level, at the penthouse suite, Akamaru started to bark as the home phone started to ring. It rang three times and stopped. And then…from the coffee table where he accidentally left it, Kiba's cell phone started to vibrate.

The Chemical Brothers started playing, and Akamaru relaxed, bobbing his head to the music. The second the song cut off, he went right back to barking.

–––––––––––––––

He gulped, staring up at the building before him. He'd gotten lost on the way, but an old lady was kind enough to point out the right way, and after it started to look familiar, he knew he was in the right place. There it was–Deidara's studio was on one of those floors. As he walked to the front door, the sight of blond hair made him freeze.

It was Deidara, and he was stretching a little. He noticed Kiba, his face going from tired to thoroughly pleased. "Oh, if it isn't my new boy toy…"

Kiba groaned. "Wh-what happened? You said nothing happened…" He rubbed his head, feeling like shit. Deidara place a gentle hand on his shoulder, pursing his lips together.

"The some six minutes were wonderful, Kiba. But I got as far as your belt buckle and you shouted out Shino's name faster than a poor art nerd having an orgasm to the head-footballer's photo, yeah? Sorry. We could have had something great, though…"

He went red, bringing his hands to his face to hide his inflamed cheeks. "Wh-What? I…I called out Shino's name!? You can't be serious!!"

"Only to get me to stop…which I totally regret now, yeah… But…it reminded me so much of myself, and I couldn't help myself! I had to get my Sasori to help you and your…plight. At least…I hope he helps, yeah?"

Kiba nodded, taking a deep breath. "Y-Yeah… …Yeah…" He looked down at the concrete beneath him. He'd gotten in real deep, hadn't he? Now he was thinking about Shino when he was with other men…and Shino was totally straight, so he may never get over him… He looked up at Deidara. "Things are going to be okay though, right?"

Deidara nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Sasori always helps when asked nicely. Just tell him your little…" He went pink, giggling. "…_cruuush_…is straight, and you might be pleased with his response…" He laughed. "Oh, this is so adorable… You're so young and in love!"

"I'm turning thirty in…like…two weeks or so."

Deidara's face fell. "What? Thirty– are you _serious_!? I totally thought you were twenty-two at most, yeah? That's so gross! I almost never go for guys that old!"

Kiba just gave him a drained look, putting a hand to his head and wincing as a truck drove by and blared its horn right in his ear. He looked back at the older man. "You have _standards_?"

"I stopped when you asked me to, didn't I?" He looked offended. "I'm not as big of a sleaze as Itachi, yeah. That bastard would rape you without a second thought. His only soft spot is his brother, though I think he'd do him to if he had the chance. That loony…" He tossed Kiba a wink. "But you will always be my favorite challenge, Kiba. Don't forget that, yeah? Now go up there and tell my Sasori about your problem!" He pranced off down the street, all decked out in a little smock and everything, looking like he was off to some art show of some sort.

Kiba just shook his head, going into the building and over to the elevator. He always hated elevators in places like this. They always felt like a prison. He closed the gate and pushed in the button for the top floor. The doors closed and he started going up.

He reached the top floor and got off, walking down the hall to a single door. He figured it was Sasori's because it was the only one with sounds coming from it–loud, sanding sounds. He knocked on the door, but it slammed open, a man wearing a strange cat hat and stage make-up slamming into him.

"Get the hell out of my way, kid!"

His head hit the wall behind him and he practically gasped, the pain was so intense. The man ignored it, storming down the hall. He watched the man go, staring at that…black…cat hat… Weird guy…

He stood and walked in, trying his hardest to not dash out of there as the pain bouncing around in his skull reached maximum from all of the noise inside. There was a man sanding a giant scorpion-looking puppet. A large metal tail curled up in the air, and he went over toward it. "Uh…are you…Sasori…?"

The man immediately stopped sanding and went over to the body of it, where there was some delicate-looking machinery. He messed with a few wires, and Kiba came closer, underneath the tail. "Um… Hello? You're S-Sasori, right?"

"Mind the tail."

Before he could finish his sentence, the tail came crashing down, nearly crushing Kiba. The younger man gasped, leaping over to the window and nearly hitting his head again. He looked over at the man–the redhead–, as if he was crazy. "What the hell!? I can't go anywhere in this place without nearly getting run over or squashed like a bug! Who the hell was that guy back there, anyway!?"

"A prick." The older man sighed, combing his fingers through his scraggly ruddy hair. "Just ignore him. He was interested in making puppets. All he'll ever be good at is handling them. He's got no talent. I told him that, so he got angry and stormed out." Finally, he turned to him. "Are you interested in puppets? Are you like him? Do you like my puppets so much and wish to make your own? It takes more than just creativity. It takes logic. You have to know how they move, how they act, you have to make them…just right. Just…_tweak_ them so that they grow with the user… It's a delicate process… Too delicate for that sad sack back there…"

Kiba's interest piqued. "Who…Who was that guy back there?"

"…" He looked up at the ceiling, thoughtful. "Sadly, nowhere near as known as he should be. He's big with Broadway productions, but the ones he's a part of always wind up never selling out…no matter how well the puppetry is in them. He commissions me for puppets all the time. My puppets were what first got him into choreography and the like–puppet handling, stage prop design… He's probably the closest to my expectations when he handles the puppets I make. It's as if he understands each and every one of them… But he'll never be as good as the maker. And that's why he wanted to make his own…but his designs were shit. They were just showy, not functional at all… I once made a puppet that could actually _spit_ water out of its mouth. He didn't understand the process it took for me to come up with that at all… He figured it would be easy…" A small smile made its way to his face. "I wonder if it's that black cat on his head… Poor guy is pretty unlucky…" He turned to Kiba, extending his hand slowly.

"Sasori."

Kiba smiled lightly, taking it. This guy was _freaky as shit_. He'd never met anyone this…well, it always looked like he had ulterior motives. He looked so _evil_. He laughed nervously, shaking Sasori's hand and immediately drawing it back, to the back of his head.

Sasori walked over toward the kitchen sink. "You have a hang-over, I suspect… Must've been why you weren't listening to me when I told you to mind the tail. Or why you winced while I was sanding…"

Kiba smiled lightly. _"No,"_ He thought. _"It's because you were trying to kill me, you freak…"_ He walked over, accepting the coffee after giving it a good sniff. He took a sip, tasting almonds, and nearly spit it out. He stared at Sasori wide-eyed, and Sasori finally put a hand over his lips, stifling a chuckle.

"Do I frighten you? You think I gave you something laced with arsenic, don't you? I'm not going to kill you… Maybe that shit that just left…or maybe that brat of a brother of his, but I only seem angry because I hate talent-less sops like that…" He poured himself a cup, downing nearly the entire thing. "There. Now if you die, I go with you."

Kiba took a few steps back, looking for something to sit on. The only thing around was the bed, and he'd rather die than sit down there. He laughed a little, thoroughly freaked out. "…I'm not here for puppets…"

Sasori gave a deep sigh of relief, his demeanor changing entirely. "That's a relief. I thought you were here about the deadline for that piece of crap over there." He pointed to the scorpion-looking thing. "I was hoping I'd scare you away and bide myself a few more months…" He set the mug down on the table, hoisting himself up next to it. He pointed to the table nearby, the one without chairs. "Well, take a seat…"

Kiba stared at him for a long moment before he jumped up on the table, swinging his legs a little. This guy was just as eccentric as Deidara. He supposed it had something to do with the whole…art…thing…

Sasori's face perked. "Do you like the coffee? It's my own special blend."

Kiba paled. "Uh…y-yeah? You…you made it yourself?" He sniffed the coffee mug again, suspicious. He'd heard somewhere that a slight amount of arsenic killed, but a whole bitch-load of it produced more of a medicinal effect… He downed the whole mug, his heart feeling like it was going to give out.

The man gave him a bright smile. "Yes. I took some Folger's coffee and mixed it with one of those special blends by Starbucks. One with almonds. It tastes nice, and has twice the amount of caffeine as both of them by themselves. Keeps me up all hours of the night so I can get my work done." He yawned a little, taking another big gulp. "Sometimes it doesn't work and I wake up a day later to find I've gotten nothing done. The studio's in shambles and I discover Deidara came in and stole some of my tools for his own use."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "A whole _day_??"

"Not really. But it feels like that, especially when the dead-line for that thing is coming up. Every hour counts…" He peered at him, looking him over. "You wouldn't happen to know Deidara, would you? You look like the type of guy he messes around with for kicks…"

Kiba smiled. "Actually…I do know him."

Sasori groaned. "That guy has no understanding of art. He thinks art is better short-lived. He spouts out garbage about the frailty of life and how it represents the strangle-hold of time! Ha! He doesn't know what real art is. Real art stands the test of time; it lives on even after the creator dies. Art like that… Art like that gives the creator immortality… Raphael! Ghiberti! Oh, and don't even get me started on Leonardo da Vinci! He was a genius; he could've given _me_ a run for my money in this puppet business! What will _Deidara_ have after he's dead? Snapshots? Those burn and dissolve and fade over time. But I…I will have metal, real _girth_. Stuff that takes decades to erode, millennia even! He just doesn't understand…" He sighed, looking at the coffee in his cup. "Sometimes I wonder what I see in that cunt."

Kiba nearly jumped off the table. "That's why I'm here!"

Sasori looked at him, realization suddenly dawning on him. It showed in his face, how his eyes flickered, how they widened, how his mouth slowly opened, how his finger slowly started to point at him. "You're Kiba, right? Dei was telling me about you. Said you had a predicament much like he used to have."

Kiba nodded his head. "I think I'm in love with some guy who's straight."

Sasori's face fell, and he went rigid, cold. "Useless…" He slid off the counter and went back to his puppet, preparing to start on it again.

Kiba dropped his mug and jumped off the table. "Wait! He said you could help me!" The mug shattered and in an instant, Sasori was looking at him like he's just murdered his family.

"What the hell was that? Did you shatter that mug?"

Kiba gasped, shaking his head. "It…It was an accident! I swear!"

The redhead stormed over, spying the mug and picking up what was left of the handle. He glared, shoving it in Kiba's face. "Do you know how important this mug is to me? I invited you into my home, let you drink from my _favorite_ Van Gogh mug! The same mug that makes his ear appear when you fill it with coffee or hot tea! And then you had to go and _break_ it!" Kiba took a step back. "Deidara _gave_ me this mug, damn it! The only thing he's given me that he hasn't destroyed the second he came over because he couldn't stand looking at it!"

Kiba shouted. "See! You really like Deidara, and I really like Shino, so you have to help me, damn it! He said you'd help if I asked nicely! And I'll get on my knees and beg, for crying out loud!" He dropped to his knees. "Help me, please! I'll do anything! I'll buy you a new one! You can get those at the museum for like…fifteen bucks!"

Sasori's face fell, and he stared at the handle in his hand. "You're pulling my leg… You can buy these at the museum for _fifteen_ bucks? He told me he made this! Is that how much I mean to that jerk?? Fifteen _fucking_ bucks!?" His face collapsed and he started to laugh. "Well…no wonder he never destroyed the damn thing… Shit, I'm going to have to kick his ass the next time I see him…" He shook his head and picked up the pieces, dumping them in the trash. "It's okay. It wouldn't be the same if you bought me one. I'll just have to demand he make me one to make up for his little prank…"

Kiba just stared at him. "P-Prank? You mean, he pulls pranks on you and everything??"

Sasori nodded, jumping back onto the counter, pointing to the table. Kiba took his spot back on the table and Sasori looked back up at the ceiling, smiling. "Yes. We both pull pranks on each other. He'll come in and sleep with me just so he can mess with the circuitry in some of my kitchen supplies. He got really mad at me for skipping sleep for almost a week, so he disconnected the wire from the back of my coffeemaker. It took me two days to realize that the cord was still in the wall, but it wasn't even connected to the coffeemaker anymore. I missed a dead-line and wound up having to ask for an extension. Kankurou was so pissed off at me. I in turn got pissed off at Deidara and stuck a metal rod into one of the vases waiting to be fired. I put the metal wire on there and covered the entire thing with a thin layer of clay. He wound up trying to break it and nearly broke the hammer he was using. Sometimes I'll go in and fill his pottery with black ink, so when he goes to destroy them, they shatter and his shoes get _ruined_… Once, he showed up glaring at me because he hadn't been wearing shoes and the ink dyed his feet black.

"That's actually why I started to like him. He made me laugh. He was the _first_ person to make me laugh. I had a pretty unhappy childhood. I lived with my grandmother and she told me my parents died. It turns out they just up and left after I was born. I found that out later. Well, regardless, my childhood was unhappy so I never really talked to people or got close to anyone.

"I was paired up with Deidara for a project in sculpture class one semester in college. Well, after a few days of working on the project, he made a quick sculpture of a clay bird, and threw it at me during class. Said that even after all my classes in engineering, he made something actually fly before I did. And it was true. I hadn't even been able to get my mechanical creatures to lift a leg. The wiring was always faulty, and for some odd reason, it struck me as hilarious. I started laughing. He was absolutely right. After that, he was always trying to make me laugh. At one point, before the next-to-the-final step of the project was done–the firing–he relayed this big story to me on how he'd turned in his part of the project with a bubble in it, in the very center. He said he was excited to see if it actually exploded like the teacher said it would. I got so pissed off at him. I yelled at him the rest of the class. Then, when our projects came out of the kiln and were passed back to us, I noticed that my part was the one with the giant crack down the middle. I'd been the one to mistakenly forget to get an air bubble out and the entire half of mine was ruined. He'd put one in there on _purpose_ and his was perfectly fine. I'll never forget what he said to me…" He snickered, and Kiba leaned on the edge of his seat at the table.

"What did he say?"

Sasori looked at him, a big smile on his face. "'That's funny; I lied about the whole thing.' He said that." Kiba laughed and Sasori burst out laughing as well. "He made the whole thing up just to piss me off!"

Kiba sighed, looking down at the tile. "…When did you first realize you liked him?"

Sasori shrugged. "I didn't notice for the longest time, actually. I actually slept with women all the time because I'd get lonely. They never lasted long, and after they were over, I always wondered what I saw in them in the first place. It wasn't until I started liking Deidara that I realized I never liked them in the first place. I was just lonely. I never really understood it, but because I was so quiet, girls found me attractive. They would ask me out all the time and without really thinking I'd say yes. The first day in, I'd suddenly realize there was nothing between us. I'd sleep with them, hoping we'd start to connect, but we never did. They'd usually be the ones to break up with me, because I was always so distant. But Deidara was my first _best_ friend."

Kiba stared at him. "Yeah…but when did you become more than just friends?"

"When I realized he was more than a friend to me. Our relationship was so comfortable it was bizarre. I'd seen enough guys hanging out at school to realize ours was different than theirs. He'd come over after a really bad break-up and fall asleep in my arms. And instead of putting him down and giving him a blanket or something and going back to my own bed to sleep, I'd hold onto him until he woke up. Sometimes I'd even fall asleep. You know, I never even held my girlfriends that long. I'd just set them down on the couch or put them in my bed and leave them alone. I found myself actually stroking Deidara's hair while he was asleep sometimes. Friends just don't do that. That's way beyond friendship. The bond is just…deeper than that. You're a pretty social guy, right? You've had friends before, even friends who were guys, right? You never did that with them, did you?"

Kiba shook his head, gulping, as a sliver of hope started rising in him. "N-No… Bu-But I have with Shino… Um…" His face flushed. "On Monday, I fell asleep in his arms while watching a movie and when I woke up he was still there, sleeping. Then…he went off to bed and when I couldn't sleep he let me sleep next to him…"

Sasori looked up at the ceiling. "That seems like it could be promising…"

"S-**Seems**!? Wh-What were you just telling me!? It's the exact same thing!"

Sasori shrugged. "Girls do that all the time."

"Wh-What!? No they don't!"

"They fall asleep on each other all the time. It doesn't ever mean anything. Now, when Shino starts stroking your hair and babying you, even getting all worked up when you even mention another man, _then_ you know it's turned into something." He shrugged his shoulders. "That's when I first realized I liked Deidara more than I did all the girls I'd been with. I never got jealous of them when I saw them talking to guys. I even saw one of my girlfriends kissing another man and I didn't care. Finally, Deidara came up to me one day and said he was seeing someone. Usually it was pretty normal for me. I just accepted it. But that time I got really angry and yelled at him. It wasn't until Deidara shouted that I was just jealous that I realized I really was… Even after I realized I was jealous, I just chalked it up to him taking my time from Deidara away. I thought I was just jealous like a friend would be when they couldn't spend as much time with them as they used to. That is, until I saw him kissing the guy and I went over and slugged him in the face…"

Kiba's eyes went wide. "You punched him in the _face_!? How did Deidara react!? Did he tell you you shouldn't've done that??"

Sasori smiled. "No." He winced. "I slugged _Deidara_ in the face. He was so mad at me for a whole week. I was miserable, too. I thought our friendship was over, and I wanted to talk to him so badly. But, every time I'd call, he'd hang up. Then the guy cornered me and told me I should've apologized. Turns out Deidara just said he was dating that guy to see how I'd react. He even asked the guy if he'd help make me jealous and the next time I was rounding the corner to my advanced engineering class, he made sure he was sucking face with the guy. He didn't think I'd punch _him_, though, so he was really peeved."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "You went through _all_ of that?? What did Deidara think!? And if you get so jealous, why don't you mind when Deidara sleeps with people??"

"Deidara laughed. He liked seeing me get so worked up over it. He said he was glad I'd finally experienced something like that. He said he wanted to be the one that got me to do everything I'd never done before–laughing, crying, blushing, yelling, screaming, and, of course, sex. He knew I'd already had sex, but he kept going on about it actually meaning something the first time I slept with him."

He shrugged, his voice quieting next. "And…I can sort of see why he sleeps around. I'm always cooped up in here when I could be spending time with him. I go to his parties just to try and get people to leave so they won't fulfill his warped vision of art. I think that's why we prank each other so much. I think all that pranking is just us getting back at each other for the other not being who we want them to be… See, I want more of a commitment, but Deidara wants sex. I…I'm not really a sexual person. I never really have been. So most of the time when he asks to have sex with me, I turn him down. Those are the nights he goes out and sleeps with random people he picks up at Ice. But every single time after that happens, after the person goes to sleep or they leave, he always comes back up here and sleeps in my bed." He shrugged. "I guess that's how I know he still cares more about me than those schmucks he sleeps with." He glanced over at the trash can. "I used to think that mug symbolized it, since it was the one thing he gave me that he didn't destroy, but apparently he bought it at the museum…"

Kiba looked at him thoughtfully. "I think it still mattered… You like stuff that stands the test of time, right? Well, Deidara believes art should be short-lived. Maybe that's why he breaks even the stuff he gives you. He wants to make it art. That mug, though, it symbolizes _your_ view of art… And that's why he'd never break it, because it symbolizes how he respects your view of art…"

Sasori looked at him, a smile gracing his face and his eyebrows raising. "You think that?" He chuckled. "That…could…be right…" He laughed. "But I doubt he respects my view of art. He's too stubborn for that…"

There was a knock on the door, and Sasori groaned. "Oh great. Deidara said he'd be back later. The last thing I want is for him to have heard all of this sappy nonsense…" He slid off the counter and went to the door. A man walked in, looking official.

"I see you haven't finished the prop, Sasori. I'm afraid you've used up all your extensions on that. We'll get someone else to finish it."

Sasori glared. "No. You want to cram it full of as much technology as it can take. The only animatronics I want in it are the tail and head and jaws. It's supposed to be handled by a _human being_. Someone's supposed to control the entire thing from inside. That's not _art_, that's just taking the easy way out."

The man looked over, looking at Kiba. "Oh, I didn't know you had a guest…"

Sasori's eyes darted to Kiba, and a smile made its way to his face. He walked over slowly, taking on that cold, calculating demeanor again. "Ah…my guest…" He went over and nudged Kiba off the table. "So about those…_packages_…I need dumped in the harbor…"

Kiba stared at him for a moment, before Sasori nudged him again and he suddenly realized he was supposed to start playing a part. He furrowed his brows. "Ah…those…_packages_… The ones that……didn't understand art… _Those_ packages… The ones that got cross with you…Boss… I'll make sure those are dumped in the harbor properly… What about the…uh…the _new_…uh…**gift**? You want me to take care of it for you?"

Sasori smiled slowly, turning his head in the man's direction as slowly as possible. "No…I think I can _wrap_ the new…**gift**…myself… Make it nice and neat. That way you can deliver it to the harbor with all the other wrapped **gifts**."

The man smiled, backing out the door. "Of course, if you need a month or so, we can postpone opening night!"

Sasori walked over to the door, glancing at the man coolly, staring him straight in the eyes. He waved good-bye. "Of course you can. I'd hate to see an entire audience get…wrapped." The door slammed shut, and he gave a sigh of relief. "Geez, I couldn't have held that guy off on my own. You're an art-saver…"

Kiba gave him a big smile. "Well, I had fun coming up with shit off the top of my head like that! It was sort of fun! We should hang out more often, yeah?"

Sasori turned to him, stared at the absolute certainty on his face, the fact that he hadn't even said that on purpose, and he found it utterly hilarious. "Sheesh, kid! He's starting to rub off on you…" He started to laugh, and Kiba blinked.

"Wh-What did I say?"

Sasori waved his hand, his laugh diminishing in a flash. "It…It doesn't really matter… Well, did any of my information help you at all?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah… It helped a lot. I'm glad Deidara told me to talk to you…" As he walked out, Deidara strode up, waving at him pleasantly. Kiba whispered a quick thanks and ran off down the hall.

Deidara strode into the studio, holding a bag. Sasori stared at it, closing the door behind the blond. "What's that you got there? Food, I hope… I only told you ten times I didn't have any food in the house…"

Deidara handed him the bag. "Even better! I was actually listening on the other end of the door and heard how Kiba broke your mug! I didn't have enough time to make you a new one, so I went to the museum and bought you one. It should last until I make you a new one, yeah?"

Sasori held it up, studying it. Now that he looked at it, he could see the copyright information along the bottom. His old mug never had that. His old mug had also never been as shiny, nor as white. Plus, the picture on it was much more scribbly. He looked at Deidara, smiling. "Wow…You really did make that for me…"

Deidara smiled, walking over and planting a kiss on his lips. "Of course. I'm not just some cheap-o. I'm an artist, yeah? And you're an artist, so I wanted something that would last forever, like you seem to think art is all about…no matter how twisted that is, yeah…"

Sasori grabbed him and gave him the most passionate kiss the blond had received in months. After he pulled back, Deidara wiggled his brows at him, intent on starting something. "Before I get you into bed, I have another little quip that will hopefully remedy any anger you have towards me after I brought a stranger into your home to delve into your personal life, yeah. So, I saw some pompous art-criticky-type man running down the hall, and I figured he was another man coming to take your art away since it wasn't getting done as fast as their liking. So, I decided to give him a scare, yeah?"

He smiled, pointing to the mug. "I don't know why, but I told him I was bringing you a gift, but before I could tell him how it was a mug for you to drink infant blood out of, he ran off screaming something about bloody heads in bags. I think that is by _far_ the best stunt you've pulled. You should definitely try that one out again, yeah? I don't think you'll see them back for a year."

Sasori chuckled. "Wh-What did you say to him?"

"That I got you a _gift_, yeah. Why? Is that significant in any–"

Before he could finish his statement, Sasori burst into hysterics. As his laughter dwindled off, he grabbed Deidara around the waist, giving him a kiss in the space behind his ear. "I don't tell you I love you nearly enough…"

–––––––––––––––––

Kiba got back to his sister's penthouse suite fairly late and slid into the couch, deep in thought. Akamaru came out of his sister's room, and it was then that he realized the radio was on. He frowned. "Akamaru, is that what you do when no one's around? You just sit around and listen to music? No wonder you're chewing on Hana's shoes! Her taste in radio stations is shit!" He smiled, going into his room and whipping out a few of CD's by The Chemical Brothers.

He popped them in the stereo shoved over by the wall–the one that never got used but was _supposed_ to be for Hana's work-outs–and pressed play. Something like hip hop and techno started to play all at once and soon both he and Akamaru were moving to the rhythm.

He looked back at his dog, smiling. "Yeah, Akamaru! Now _this_ is music! This isn't that weak Britney-crap Hana's always listening to! This is a _beat_!"

By the time the CD's were all used up, Kiba was panting and lying on Akamaru's side, staring up at the ceiling. Akamaru growled at him, and he frowned. "I can pant, too…"

The dog barked. He was so glad his hang-over had worn off by now.

"So what if I've got sweat glands all over my body?! I have every right to pant like you! I could have sweat glands in my mouth, too!"

The dog growled.

"And feet pads, whatever! Hana knows more about stuff like that anyway! I can't believe she never became a veterinarian like she wanted to… She's so good with animals! Why would she want to be a lawyer anyway? They're all a bunch of slimey, no-good–"

"No good _what_?"

He looked up to see Hana standing in the hall way leading to the living room. She had a pair of spectacles sliding down the bridge of her nose, and she looked sweaty and bent-out-of-shape from work. He smiled, starting to sweat more profusely.

"Shitheads. But you're not a shithead, Hana. All of your co-workers are, though, I'll bet… That's why you're dating someone who works at the post office, right?"

She sighed, her arms too full to place her hands on her hips. "I've heard of dramatic recoveries, but this is the weirdest I've seen yet. Last night you were drunk as hell and crying torrents, begging me to take you home to Mom. And now I come home and you're insulting my line of work? What the hell, Kiba?" She looked at the two of them lying there, seeing the stereo on. "And let me guess…you and Akamaru were having one of your jam sessions, I take it?"

She rolled her eyes, dumping her bags onto the couch and heading to her room. "I'll give you thirty minutes or more while I'm taking a hot bath and then you can come up with an excuse that'll let me know what exactly it was that set you off the other night. I was waiting for you to be sober before I asked, and it's obvious you're just fine now."

Kiba nodded and watched her go to the bathroom. He sighed, glancing over at Akamaru. "Usually I'd come up with some elaborate story so she wouldn't worry… What do you think I should do, boy?"

Akamaru whined, getting up and going into her bedroom, turning the radio off and retreating to his room. Kiba sighed. "Yeah… I wanna tell the truth, too. I just wish I could run off and hide from her wrath like you…"

An idea formed in his head, and he grabbed Akamaru. "Come on, boy! Let's take a walk and go get some food for Hana when she gets out of the shower!" Akamaru barked happily, and soon the two were prancing down the street, on the prowl for food.

––––––––––––––––

Hana got out of the shower, drying off her hair and pulling on the robe hanging by the door. She left the room, went and changed into a pair of decent clothes and walked into the kitchen for some food. To her surprise, Kiba was sitting there with a meat-lovers pizza, putting a flower in a vase in the center of the table.

He looked up at her, giving her a goofy smile. "Hey, Hana! I thought you'd like some food. I didn't know what you'd like, but I had a hankering for some pizza, and Akamaru agreed, so I decided to go get one!"

She sat down, eying the extra plate at the edge of the table…and the dog downing the slice of pizza on it. "…Kiba… Thanks and all…but I'm still going to ask you what happened. You said someone who wanted to sleep with you finally got through… What…what did you mean by that?"

"Alright." Kiba took a bite of his pizza and nodded his head. "I went back to a guy's place and he gave me wine mixed with vodka so I'd sleep with him."

She didn't even sit down at the table–she simply gasped and felt a terrible anger well up in her. "You…you _what_!? Kiba, what were you thinking!? You have to be more careful! Jesus Christ! Did you think everything would be _fine_!? No wonder you were in tears! You kept spouting out how you were in deep and how– Oh my God! I told Mom you were fine! But you're not fine, Kiba! We have to go get you tested for all kinds of things now!"

Kiba growled. "Nothing happened with Deidara, alright!? Besides, you act like I've never had sex before! It's not like I haven't had sex, Hana! I'm almost thirty! I get tested when I feel it's needed, but nothing happened with Deidara! He didn't even make it past my belt buckle before I got him to stop by shouting Shino's name!"

She clenched her firsts, her voice low. "You think it's no big deal, Kiba, but it _is_! Jesus, he got you _drunk_! He could've told you _anything_ and you would've believed him, damn it! You trust people too easily! You'd let a burglar into the house if he asked nice enough!"

Kiba stood, and Akamaru went running back to his room. "Listen, Hana, I trust Deidara because Deidara's already involved with someone, alright!? I'm not a baby! You're not Mom, alright! You don't have to watch over me like that!"

Her eyes narrowed. "I should, though! The way you carelessly go about acting like nothing's wrong! You're in love with a co-worker, Kiba! You never get involved with co-workers! That's why people quit their jobs for seemingly no reason! Kiba, you wanted me to take you back home to Mom last night you were so upset! What am I supposed to think!? That everything was fine and this…this…_Deidara_ suddenly stopped and was _nice_ to you!?"

He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're not Mom, Hana! Quit treating me like a baby! For your information he let me talk to his partner, Sasori! Sasori used to think he was straight until he met Deidara! And the way he was telling me about him, he acts just like Shino does! He was closed off and everything! Don't you see, Hana!? There's a chance! There's a chance I can get Shino to suddenly realize he likes me!"

Hana grabbed a piece of pizza, biting down bitterly. "You also said Shino _was_ straight, Kiba. He doesn't _think_ he's straight, he _knows_ he's straight…That means there _is_ no hope! I don't want you to go chasing after something that will never happen! It'll just make you hurt in the long run." She sighed, throwing the piece back onto the rest of the pizza. "Kiba, I don't…I don't like the idea of you trying to get Shino to like you… What if…What if the same thing that happened back at home happens here? What then? I don't want you to have to move away, but if I feel it's necessary, I _will_ tell Mom you need to go back home…"

Kiba went over to the stove and stared at it for the longest time. Until, finally, he turned back around. "What happened at home was unavoidable, Hana… I was stupid, and I shouldn't have brought a guy home anyway. I just…I got drunk, alright? I forgot to just go rent a motel room for the night or go back to his place and Dad found us in the morning. It's not going to be like this, Hana. Because it's not like I'll wind up bringing a guy to the office and have sex on the boss's desk or anything. And the people here are nice; they're not like back at home. They don't care if someone's gay. Everyone back home did…"

She sighed. "Kiba…I just don't want you getting hurt…"

"I've been hurt before. It just makes me stronger, right? I'm turning thirty soon… I think it's about time I decided things for myself… I don't want to keep living here, relying on you. That's the way it was back home… I moved right back in with Mom and Dad after college was over. But I won't this time… Just…please don't tell Mom I need to go back and live back home. You know if she begs me, I'll go there in a heartbeat."

"Yeah…" She stared at the pizza, picking up the piece and taking a bite out of it again. "By the way, I told Mom we'd be there around the time of your birthday. You'll be able to take some time off work then, right? Your vacation days will be in effect by then, right?"

He smiled. "I think so. And if not, I can always visit her around Thanksgiving and celebrate it that way…"

Hana smiled. "She says she wants to see you as soon as possible. Not a single day past July 12th. You better hope you can take off… Now…go take a shower. You stink like a sewer…"

He laughed, going to the bathroom. "Don't blame me. Blame the bum that hit me up for change on the way back. He was eyeing Akamaru like he wanted dog for dinner."

He shut the door behind him, and she sighed, putting the pizza back down. There she went again…ruining dinner for the both of them because of her concern. She sighed, knowing Kiba was right. He was a big boy–he could take care of himself…

But she just…she didn't like the idea of him going after Shino. It was like…well, it made her feel uncomfortable. Like she was right back home with Mom and Dad arguing, and Kiba begging her not to tell them about the magazines she found underneath his bed. She never quite got over that; she'd been visiting home during winter break, and she went to go change his bed sheets and put the folded clothes of his away. He was away hanging out with friends, and she'd come across a few dirty magazines, but they weren't the same types most boys had. They had men all over them, and that's when she realized he just…didn't like women.

When he came home that night, he was bright red and she immediately asked him if he got lucky. The second those words left her mouth, he'd put a hand over his mouth, worried. And…of course…he found out she knew when she asked him about the magazines.

She still didn't know why it didn't bother her at first. She used to think that she actually felt something cold wriggle its way up her spine and she waited days before she asked him, but that simply wasn't the case. She just…didn't care. The only reason she had to be concerned was how Dad would react–he always favored Kiba, since he wanted him to carry on the family name.

How could he possibly do that when he wouldn't be marrying a woman?

She sighed, folding the pizza box closed and stowing it away in the fridge. She may not mind Kiba trying to get Shino, but the second she feared his secret would slip to anyone outside of those choice few friends, she'd be there faster than ever.

And Shino already knew Kiba was gay, right? But…she wasn't sure if Kiba had even tried bringing it up to him yet. She could only hope Kiba didn't wind up blurting everything out when that happened. It was too soon for him to get hurt.

About twelve minutes later, she heard the phone ring. _"Who could it possibly be this hour of the night?"_ She wondered. She'd only been home an hour at least… She went to the phone, picking it up. It was probably Juugo…

Her eyes caught sight of the Caller I.D. and for a moment she almost decided to just let it ring. She swallowed, a trembling finger pushing "Talk." She put it to her ear.

"Shino?"

"Hey, Hana. I'd like to speak to Kiba."

"Just a second…" She stuttered a little, wondering what to do. She passed the phone back and forth between her hands, contemplating whether she should tell Kiba. No…Kiba was in the shower… He wouldn't have to know Shino ever called… She hung up the phone, letting out a big sigh of relief.

He'd probably ask where Kiba was that day, and she couldn't give an answer. Kiba's showers were short. She had to keep Kiba from messing up big time and opening his mouth. At least for tonight. When he was at work, his stupid mouth was his own problem…

The phone rang again, and she just about died. Kiba would be out of the shower any minute! She had to get him off the phone before he came in!

–––––––––––––––––

Kiba walked out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He went to his room, lingering in the doorway. His sister was on the phone, he could hear her almost whispering. He always had a feeling she was relaying everything to Juugo, as if she had any right to tell it to people. Or maybe she was on the phone with Mom…

He walked out, spying her holding the phone and mumbling something. He just about shouted. "Hey, Hana! Talking to Juugo again?" His sister hung up the phone, her eyes trailing to him, looking guilty.

He narrowed his eyes. "…You were talking to someone and you didn't want me to know…" He walked over to her. "It was Shino, wasn't it?"

"N-No. Don't be silly, Kiba…" She looked guilty, she looked like she'd been caught lying. She gave him a false smile. "I was just…discussing something private with Juu–"

"Don't lie to me, Hana! That _was_ Shino! Why don't you want me talking to him!?"

The Chemical Brothers started playing from the coffee table and he shot over to the couch, grabbing it. Hana lingered back, growing more worried each second. He pushed the button, placed it by his ear. "Hey, Shino, buddy! Sorry I wasn't at work today. I actually went to a club after we parted ways the other day. I wound up going back to this woman's house and she got me drunk and tried to sleep with me…"

Great. Now Shino thought he was with a woman. Why had he told him that in the first place? Why'd he tell him anything? What happened next froze his blood.

Shino's breathing hitched and he started to yell over the phone. "Wh-What!? You got drunk and nearly _raped_? What the hell, Kiba?? Be a little more cautious!"

He turned to his sister worriedly, his mind racing. Why the hell was Shino getting so angry? He thought it was a woman. It wasn't like… Oh wait, he thought he was straight. Right… Something powerful pounded in his chest, he winced at the word rape. He started to tremble, worrying that Shino hated him all of a sudden. "It wasn't rape or anything… N-Nothing happened, so everything was fine…"

It didn't work. "You got drunk, and somehow nothing happened?? How the hell did that happen!?"

He sat down on the couch, refusing to look over in his sister's direction and see the absolutely hateful look she was giving him. "…She just…stopped." He really didn't want Shino to know why Deidara stopped.

"Well, how does someone just stop?? Did you tell her to stop!?"

He chuckled, tempted to tell him it was because he called out his name, but he didn't. "M-More or less…"

"More or less!? What's that supposed to mean!?"

Why the hell was he getting so worked up for? He was acting like Hana! "Nothing. I'm fine, so there's nothing wrong, alright? Sheesh. You're acting just like Hana when she found out. I'm not a baby. I can take care of myself, alright? I mean, why the hell are you getting so worked up over this?" Deidara had standards, and accusing him of rape was just rude. Deidara was his friend, damn it! Why was everyone throwing that word around!? It was making him so angry!

"You were nearly raped!"

"I was not! I knew him!" The second those words left his mouth, he put a hand to his lips.

Shino was practically enraged by then. "Him!?"

He grew quiet, heart pounding, his forehead breaking out in a cold sweat. He'd…He'd just told Shino he'd been with a man instead. "Uh…I have to go now." He hung up, worry consuming him. As he looked up at Hana for help, she just threw her hands up in the air.

"_That's_ why I didn't want you to talk to Shino, Kiba! I knew you'd blurt something out eventually! Why couldn't you have just said you were sick like I told your boss!?"

He stood, angry and scared and defensive all at once. "Sh-Shut up! J-Just shut the hell up! He probably won't believe it! He'll think he heard wrong! Everything's going to be fine, alright?? Everything…Everything's going to be fine in the morning…" His face fell, tears worked their way to his eyes, and he stormed over to his room, tossing the phone back on the couch and slamming the door behind him. He refused to leave his room all night, even after Akamaru started chewing on the door to get in.

"Oh shit… He's going to hate me in the morning…" He stared up at his ceiling, unable to sleep. He desperately wanted to go straight over to Shino's house and help him understand it wasn't like that, that he wasn't gay or anything, that the word rape shouldn't have been tossed out there like that…but the only way for him to make Shino understand was to tell him exactly what happened.

And that was the one thing he couldn't do.


	12. What! TenTen Has a Cat?

_That last chapter was at least 8,000 words, minus the A/N. Damn. I didn't even know I had it in me. :D That's pretty cool. Of course, the one before it was just as long, but still._

_Sorry I made Sasori out of character. I think I did a fairly good job at getting it relatively right, though, since he's not in the Naruto universe. Besides, if I were going by how he really is, he'd be like…seventy years old and still look like he was in his twenties, since he actually…well…if I say why it would spoil it for some people. I had fun making Kankurou all peeved off at him, though. Kankurou's a fun character, simply because of his weird hat. I love that hat. I'm thinking about making one to wear during the winter. Maybe make it out of felt or line the inside of it with fur or something. Man, that'd be so warm… I already made a Momiji-style hoodie for a friend of mine. I sewed little bunny ears on the hood of it, and he wore that hood everywhere, with the bunny ears swaying as he walked. It was fun. He'd purposely jump up and down to get them to really move. I really miss talking and hanging out with him, though. We sort of stopped after he dropped out of high school. But the hoodie was freakin' cool. I bought it at Target, and it was the exact same colour as Momiji in his rabbit form. I found some fleece material that was the exact same colour. He wanted to go as Momiji for Halloween. (I even had the pleasure of painting his fingernails a purple-pink colour! I'll bet he got TONS of candy.)_

_Enjoy this chapter for me, though. Usually I get started on the next chapter immediately after I post the most recent one, but this time I couldn't even dream of that. I have had at least four hours of decent sleep in the past three days. That probably has something to do with it…_

_I'm really not pleased with hour the last part plays out. It seems…too forced? Yeah. Too forced. The characters are too stiff, not fluid enough, they don't really flow too well. Of course, it's really difficult for me to write more than two characters at a time. Whenever I do, I always want to make sure the readers know exactly what each character is doing, and that winds up making the writing more forced-feeling._

_Oh, but before I let you all go reading it (these things wind up stretching so long, don't they?), I must say, the reference to TenTen's "cat" makes me giggle something fierce. It gives the title of this entire fic a _whole_ new meaning. (Because cats are the opposite of dogs, of course.)_

_Shino's not up to par with all of the slang these days, is he? Poor guy needs to get out more._

_Oh, and I hope I make up for Sakura sounding like a total bitch in the last chapter. I think her and TenTen should be BFF's, personally. Both of them are like…strong women, yeah. (Yes. She _does_ make an appearance. A song actually inspired her back-story, if you can believe that. It's by Band of Horses, naturally. The song is titled St. Augustine, and it's really pretty. It also reminds me of Neji most of the time, but that's only because of the lyrics.)_

_Oops. I totally forgot Suigetsu was the lucky user of the first f-word. Sorry Shika. You're not enough of a badass to be the first user. Even if you do listen to Justin Timberlake._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 12_

TenTen woke up, groggy, crusty-encrusted eyes opening to find herself wrapped up in a blanket on a strange bed. She shot up, her head spinning, desperately trying to remember what happened the previous night and how she got…wherever here was.

Despite the fact that the ceilings were cracked and the wallpaper looked like it was about to come falling off the walls–the adhesive long since dried up–, the place was actually clean. Barren, actually, minus a closet filled with some clothes and a box on the closet floor labeled "Movies". There was a lamp on the nightstand off to the side farthest behind her, with a phone sitting neatly aligned in front of it. She stood shakily, going to the windows, wrapping herself in the blanket–why was it so cold in here?. There was some light traffic on the streets below, but the streetlights were still lit and the sky outside the building was just beginning to creep awake.

The door was closed, and she went to it, reluctant to open it. What would she find on the other side? She remembered she'd gone to dinner with Shikamaru and Chouji and Shino, but everything was hazed over; she couldn't remember what happened first and what happened last. She got into a fight with Shikamaru and dashed to the bathroom to have a good cry, and then…then they'd left…or had they? She couldn't remember. Who'd taken her home? She remembered someone got into the cab with her…

She opened the door to find a neat room. There was an old television set shoved against the wall on a coffee table and a VHS player sitting next to it. There was a couch across from it. The rest of the room was just as empty as the bedroom. Her eyes followed a sound, and there was a door to her left, but it was open. It was the door to the bathroom, and whoever was in there had the faucet running.

She walked over–the blanket she'd taken off the bed still wrapped around her–and peered into the bathroom.

"Shit, I can't do anything with this hair, can I? Geez…maybe if it was a little bit longer I could pull it back in some kind of weird ponytail like Shikamaru…but…geez. I have half a mind to just shave all of it off, damn it."

She cleared her throat, and the man turned around. It was Shino, and he had a comb stuck in his hair. He went red. "Uh…TenTen… Listen, about why you're here… I can totally explain… N-Nothing happened, alright? You…you got all wacky with that medication you took and became incoherent. I didn't know where you lived, so I just brought you back here…"

She smiled a little, walking into the bathroom, up close to him. She smiled, turning a bit pink. "Uh…d…do you mind?" She pointed to the toilet, and his eyes went wide.

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Sure…" He eased past her and closed the door shut behind him, leaving her in there to do what he was trying not to imagine what she was going to do…

For the longest time he sat outside, waiting, trying to get the comb out of his hair. It would be seven soon, and he'd probably be a bit late to work… Maybe even thirty minutes. Geez, he didn't know that being social would ruin his previously stunning work record. He went to the kitchen, pulling out a protein shake from the fridge.

He spied a roach on the counter and hissed. "Hey, she's already scared enough. Get out of here, Skipper…" The roach didn't budge, and he frowned. "Wait, Skipper doesn't leave the ceiling this early… Have I named you yet?" He took a sip of the protein shake and looked it over. "Wait a minute, you're a girl…aren't you?" Another female roach popped out of the bread box and skittered over next to it. He smiled. "Laverne and Shirley. There we go."

"Um…who are you talking to?"

Shino turned around to see TenTen standing there, her hair wet, her make-up all but gone, wearing the clothes from the night before. His breathing hitched. "Uh…no one." He took a quick step in front of the roaches. He gave her a small, almost pleading smile, hoping she'd leave.

She misunderstood it and smiled back at him. "Listen…I know you're interested in me, Shino. You asked me out before, right?"

Shino nodded, lifting a hand to his neck and rubbing it anxiously. Geez. She really _was_ interested in him, wasn't she? "I was meaning to ask, TenTen… You've got a car, but you still take a taxi wherever you go… Are you…just putting up a front again at work?"

She sighed, giggling. "Shino, stop trying to change the subject. You're still interested in me, aren't you? I mean, why did you want to ask me out in the first place?" She walked over, pressing herself up against him. "You're still interested…right?" She stared up into his eyes, and he felt the can drop out of his hands.

"Uh…" He sidled over to the side, away from her body. He smiled, heading out of the kitchen. "We're going to be late for work…" His cheeks flared, and he couldn't help but wonder why he didn't want her right now. It was just like with Ino. He asked her out, and the second they showed any sort of interest afterwards, he froze up, unable to reciprocate their feelings. He'd slept with Ino, hoping he'd suddenly want her again, but it never happened and he closed himself off again. Karin was a completely different story. Karin threw herself on him and they wound up having sex. He lost the connection _after_.

She turned to him. "People are going to talk. Both of us showing up to work together…"

Shino looked back at her, sweating. "We can part ways in the elevator, right? No one would have to know. You get off a floor before me…"

She smiled sadly. "Actually, Neji asked me to come discuss something one of the people he polled asked him. They were wondering if they could have a Q&A section for the men, too…so…I actually need to go talk to Neji first thing…"

He looked her over. "You should…probably change for work, too. That's a bit too casual… I wouldn't mind stopping by with you to your house…"

She stared at him, her eyes widening. "Oh? So you want to see my house?" She smiled. "So you _are_ interested?"

He shook his head, heading for the bedroom so he could grab his tie. "N-No. It's not like that. I'm just worried since your medication made you act like that…I was worried something might happen… I wanted to make sure you got to work alright and everything…"

She smiled, her cheeks darkening. "You're very sweet…" She sighed, going to the door. "Alright. But I must warn you…I…live with my mother and step-father…"

––––––––––––––––––

She looked just like she always did. After she'd gone home to get dressed, she wound up looking exactly like she did every other day. And yet, there was something completely different about her. He'd seen a part of her that no one had seen before, and for some odd reason…she seemed more real, more accessible.

Riding up in the elevator in their floor, she started laughing as she talked about what it was like growing up, with her mother who'd had her as a teenager, and her step-father who was a simple fisherman for a living. She wasn't afraid to say anything to him, to say _anything_.

They reached the floor above hers and she went silent immediately. They passed her floor, and she gripped his sleeve, closing herself off once more. Her face went back to that cold, unattainable look to it, her back had straightened considerably, and her teeth clenched.

She leaned over, to look at the floor they were now on. "Oh my God. We're…We're here. We're here, aren't we?" She looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

He simply nodded his head and she looked back at the door as it opened. There was a flash of pink in front of them, and she swore, pushing the elevator closed. It did, and she punched the button for the top floor. "Shit! It's her! She's here! What the hell is she doing _here_!?"

Shino's face twisted. "Wh-What? _Who's_ here?"

"Sakura Haruno! The woman I used to work with!"

––––––––––––––––––

"Hello, _Ino_."

Ino returned the smile that could freeze fire, filing her nails. She chuckled. "Sakura, I haven't seen you since college. Where are you working now? I suppose you never got that job in acting you were hoping for…"

The woman's face just clenched. "…" She took a deep breath, keeping her cool. "To be honest, I don't _have_ a job anymore. And I quit that job to act, and it hasn't been doing too well and now my monetary support is gone, so I need to find a job again…"

Ino put down her nail file, leaning over the desk, her voice barely above a whisper. "It was the forehead, wasn't it?"

She resisted the urge to slap her across the face and brought her hand to her hair, twisting it around her finger tightly. She laughed, forced. "Why, yes! I _wonder_ how you guessed…"

Ino just laughed, bringing her hand over her lips. "I wonder how you thought it wouldn't hinder your dreams of being famous… It's not like you can get plastic surgery either." She laughed. "The only way for them to do anything about it would be to put hair on your forehead… Hairy Sakura. How funny…"

"Look!" She was nearly screaming. "I'm here to apply for a job and this is the floor the boss is on! Let me see him!"

Ino shrugged, going to her computer and beginning to type. "All the positions are filled, dear. They were filled by one Kiba Inuzuka just two weeks ago… Men's division, women's division, editing, packaging, publishing, distribution, all of them–filled. You'll have to look somewhere else… That is…" She gave her a wry smile. "If you're not above janitor work…"

"Not even the temporary jobs are filled? I'll even work a temp-job if they're open!"

Ino narrowed her eyes. "We always have temp-jobs open." She sighed, going to her phone. "Mr. Jiraiya, there's a woman here looking for a job as a temp. …Alright. I'll be sure to tell her." She hung up the phone, looking bored. "The boss is too busy for women coming in trying to _suck up_ to him in his office. If you're looking for someone to _suck up_ to for a job, you'll have to go three floors up to management. I'll call the secretary desk up there and have someone up there schedule something. I hope you don't mind waiting until after lunch…" She gave Sakura a positively nasty smile and waved her hand at her.

"No get your ass moving, Forehead."

_Smack!_

Sakura smiled, wiping her hands together, and went to the elevator, ignoring the screeches from her ex-friend. "Bitch! How _dare_ you do that to me! I'll kill you, do you hear me!? I'll sue you and then I'll kill you! …My face… My beautiful face… If this bruises, you'll be hearing from my lawyer!!"

–––––––––––––––––––––

There was something so personal about seeing a woman break down and cry, and Shino soon realized it was actually the first time he'd even witnessed it. Even after he'd broken up with that girl in high school, all she did was yell at him for being such a 'distant fuckhead' and give him a slap on the face. He'd never actually been around a woman who cried.

She sighed, wiping at her eyes and pulling out a bag of make-up. She looked at him. "Don't tell anyone, alright?"

He just sucked in a breath and shook his head, staring at the elevator doors. The elevator started to move again: They were now going down. He sighed, leaning against the back of the elevator. Now that he gave it some thought, having only _one_ elevator was _highly_ inefficient. He was pretty sure there were some elevators that were for the workers that had to cart around heavy workloads, but those only went as high up as the fourth floor… There was a second that went all the way up to the top, but that was to be used by strictly the higher-ups.

The elevator door opened at his floor, and a woman stepped on, pushing the button for three floors above them. Her hair was…pink. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to go anywhere _near_ something that could even be taken as an insult. The last thing he wanted was a fight to break out.

There was a brief moment of silence before TenTen's hand went grabbing for his wrist, her nails digging into his skin. He winced, looking back at her. She was staring at the woman, and after a while the woman turned.

"TenTen? I _thought_ I saw your reflection in the metal! TenTen! Oh, I missed you _so_ much!"

TenTen's voice was shaky, and she kept gripping his arm tighter. "S-Sa-Sakura… How…How nice to see you…again." She gave a strained smile. "Why are you here?"

Sakura sighed, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "I quit. I always wanted to act, so I got a job at a local theatre when I felt I'd saved up enough money… Look, I…I really missed you. I could have used your support for those couple of months… It was so difficult working my way up, trying my very hardest. And in the end, it was all for nothing. They said that my acting was very, _very_ good but my singing was beyond repair. _Beyond repair_! Can you _believe_ that!? My dreams of Broadway were _shattered_!" She sighed. "I really needed to hear something…_anything_. I know you would've just told me to forget about them and helped me look for a job… I really wish you hadn't stopped talking to me after that whole Rock Lee nonsense…"

The elevator door opened, and TenTen's voice cracked. "N-Nonsense? It may have been nonsense to you…bu-but it wasn't to _me_. I couldn't even _work_ there anymore thanks to that two-timing, good-for-nothing–"

"He meant nothing to me, TenTen! I could have cared less about him! You say you quit afterward, but so did he! He stopped coming when he realized what he'd done! The only reason why he brought you flowers was because he knew you needed them! And then you got a job someplace too far from his work so he couldn't go out of his way and bring them to you! Face it, TenTen, _you're_ the one that made it fail! You and your _delusion_ that he still cared about me! We were _just_ friends, for God's sake!"

TenTen slapped her, and Sakura tensed up. After a long time, she relaxed, taking a step back to the elevator. It was closed again, and she pushed the button for it to open. It stopped the floor below and opened again. "To think our friendship was torn to shreds by a guy I didn't even give jackshit about." She laughed. "Whatever, TenTen. When you grow up and become a big girl, I'll be waiting to patch things up. Until then, take your _own_ advice, Miss Big-shot Advice Columnist." She stepped out of the elevator and down the hall, to the stairs.

There was a long moment of silence as the elevator door closed, and Shino finally turned to her, pushing the button for their floor. "Think she was applying for a job here because she knew you were here? She seemed like she wanted to try and repair your friendship."

"Shut up!" Her breathing was heavy, and she wiped her hand across her cheek, clearing her throat. She lifted a trembling hand to her hair and tightened the bun in her hair. "Sakura was always saying things to try and get me to calm down."

"She was your _friend_. I should hope she did."

She sighed, sounding like she was pleading with him. "Look, me and Sakura were never _friends_, alright? We were acquaintances at best."

"She sure did seem to think you were friends…"

The doors opened and TenTen sighed, stepping out. "It must be nice being you, Shino. Being able to see good in _everything_." She stormed over to the office door and opened it, stomping in. From the other side, he heard someone say hello to her, but she never responded.

Shino watched her, frowning a little. He _rarely_ saw good in anything. What was _she_ talking about? Kiba stepped out of the office, into the elevator. That was when the two noticed each other.

Kiba tensed up, pushing the elevator for two floors above them. His cheeks darkened, and Shino just stared at him.

The elevator doors closed, and Shino immediately blurted it out. "I'm sorry I got so angry at you the other night. It's just…TenTen wound up passing out and I had to bring her over to my place, and I didn't get any of the groceries I needed. I used up the last protein shake this morning and–"

Kiba turned. "Wait, TenTen stayed the night at your apartment?" He gave him a suspicious look, and Shino's cheeks went pink.

He rubbed the back of his head. "Look…it wasn't anything like that, Kiba…"

Kiba shrugged, trying to keep calm, as the elevator doors opened. "Well, a girl was over at your apartment all night. What else am I supposed to think? It's not like that happens normally… Especially not with a guy like you and all… I mean…did she instigate it or anything, or did you?"

Instead of stepping out, Kiba let the doors close. Shino pushed the button to their floor angrily, right back where Kiba had come from. "Instigated!? She's not that type of girl, Kiba!" His cheeks flared, and for some reason that strange urge to piss the shorter man off rose up in his chest. "And it's not like I could've gotten off to her or anything, as much as I wanted to!! She was _unconscious_!"

Kiba turned around; there was a horrified and angry look on his face. "Shino! What the hell, man!? You're disgusting!"

"Not as disgusting as _you_."

Kiba turned, his face pale as a ghost. "Wh-What do you mean by that?" Shino had assumed he liked men from that. He hadn't heard wrong. He'd–

"You let a woman get you drunk so she could sleep with you! You need better sense than that!"

The colour to his face returned, and he chuckled. "A w-woman got me drunk. Yes. She got me drunk and _tried_ to sleep with me. But nothing every happened…" He went red. "I…I told her to stop. And she did."

The elevator doors opened, and Kiba stepped out, completely forgetting he had to go do something on the floor above him. Shino just glared, angry the shorter man had barely reacted. "Oh, so you like women being the dominant one? You're such a wuss, Kiba!"

There was a snort from the secretary desk. "You certainly seem like the type to have a woman dominate you, Inuzuka. And here I thought you were gay…" Ino put a hand to her lips as the two men looked at her. "Of course, you have no right to get onto him about him being a wuss, Shino. After all, I was on top every time we had sex…"

Shino went red and slammed the door to the office open. "S-So!? It's only because I couldn't bring myself to actually instigate sex with an ugly bitch like you!"

She gasped in rage and he looked back at her, squinting his eyes. "Is it me or did you just get uglier… Did something… I-Is your face swollen?"

She gasped again, bringing her face to her hand. "N-No! Nothing happened like that! This is how I always look!" She quickly reached into her purse and whipped out a compact, trying to desperately see all of the damage Sakura had done.

Kiba stifled a laugh and pushed Shino into the office, before he closed the door behind him. They both went to their desks, Shino shoving his overcoat in the corner of his cubicle and planting himself in his chair.

Shikamaru peered over the cubicle, toward Kiba's. "Oi, Kiba. That was fast. Where are those documents I requested?"

Kiba stood, swearing. "Ah, geez! I ran into Shino on the elevator and completely forgot!" He threw his hands up in the air, shuffling around the documents he had lying around before he found the copy he needed the original to. "Here we go! I'll get that to you right away, Shikamaru!" He walked out of the office.

Chouji ran over to Shino. "Oi, Shino. I left something in my car, and I have a meeting with Jiraiya. Could you _please_ go get it for me!?"

Shino stood, looking at him. "Well…alright. But you _still owe_ me…"

He ran out to the elevator, surprised to see Kiba stepping on it. He was still angry, so he wound up dashing in the door and tossing Kiba against the back. Kiba gave out a cry of pain and he hit the button for the bottom-most floor. The elevator doors closed, and the elevator started going down. He took his spot by the wall, smiling pleasantly at his shorter friend.

Kiba rubbed his head and glared, pushing every button below the floor they were on. Shino glared back, cracking his knuckles. The floor went down one, opened, one more floor, opened, all the way it was like that to the bottommost floor. It opened, and Kiba pushed the button for the doors to close. Shino stepped for it, but they slammed in his face. He glared at the shorter man, pushing the button for the floor directly above them.

Kiba pushed the button for the bottom floor again. It went up one floor, opened. Kiba hit the button for the bottommost floor again.

Shino's jaw dropped, and soon they were riding the elevator down. He pushed the button for the floor above them. Kiba pushed the button for them going down. It went on like that about five times each floor, until finally Kiba pushed the topmost floor and they were going up.

Somewhere around the eighth floor there was a massive groan and the elevator settled to a stop.

Kiba looked up, spying they were nowhere near the top floor. "Wh-What happened…why did it stop?"

Shino glared. "You broke the elevator, you idiot."

"Me!? You're the one that kept pushing buttons!"

"So were you."

"Yeah, well I wouldn't have kept pushing them if you hadn't kept making me angry and making you push them!"

"That doesn't make any sense, you moron." His voice started rising.

Kiba glared, releasing all his frustration as he shoved Shino hard against the wall of the elevator. "Yeah, well _you_ don't make any sense, you stupid shit!"

Shino shoved him back. "Don't shove me! You'll make the elevator just break further!"

He shoved him again. "I'll stop shoving when you apologize, you asshole!"

Shino shoved him back again, and Kiba went tumbling to the elevator floor. "Apologize for something I didn't even do!!"

Kiba wiped some blood off his nose and grabbed the legs out from under the taller man. "You're just jealous people even _want_ me! You're such a loser you have to drug women before they'll even _think_ about going back to your roach-infested shithole apartment!"

The taller man, because the space in the elevator was too small, went careening forward, the back of his head falling backward and smashing into the back wall. His legs buckled and he fell to the floor on his knees, screaming in pain. The elevator let out a moan as if it wanted them to feel its wrath for fighting inside of it, and Kiba's eyes shot to the top of it. He seized Shino by the shoulders, scared shitless.

"Wh-Wh-What the _fuck_ does that mean!?"

Shino glared, shoving the shorter man off of him and taking his spot by the wall. "It means if we're not careful and we keep fighting, the elevator might just collapse. Either that or someone pushed a button to try and use it."

Kiba fell silent, falling against his wall. "…So…I guess this means we shouldn't fight in here."

Shino gave him a long, weary look. "No,_ really_?" He sighed, looking at the ceiling. "The best thing we can do is not panic."

Kiba, however, couldn't find it in him to take the man's advice. "What the hell?? We're stuck in an elevator and all you can say is to not panic!? How the hell can you not panic!? We're _stuck_ in an elevator! **Alone**!!"

Shino smirked. "You know, I heard somewhere that these things only take in air when in motion…"

Kiba freaked. "We're going to die in here! We're going to fucking _die_ and it's all your fault for being a jealous loser!" He stood, banging on the doors. "Oh my God, help! Help!!"

Shino stood, grabbing him by the waist and tearing him from the doors. "What did I tell you, huh? Stay calm! Stay calm and we'll get through this just fine. I was lying when I said that, anyway."

Kiba fell backward, sending them both to the floor, Kiba in the taller man's lap. He sighed. "I'm feeling so claustrophobic right about now…" He crossed his arms over his chest, rubbing his arms to an obscene amount. "Jesus, I really _hate_ tight spaces like this! I can barely sit still when using this blasted thing normally! How am I supposed to stay in here for–" He turned to Shino. "H-How long do you think it'll take for us to get out of here…"

Shino chuckled, resting his cheek against the glass. His head was pounding after Kiba had send him shooting to the floor. "Probably two hours or so… If we're lucky, we may miss the whole day and get out of work…"

Kiba groaned. "Two _hours_? Maybe even the whole _day_!? How am I supposed to–"

The taller man cleared his throat. "Not that we haven't been in this position already or anything…but I'd rather like my lap back…"

Kiba turned beet red. "O-Oh… Oh! Geez! I'm terribly sorry, b-buddy!" He went to the corner, over _next_ to Shino, curling up as best as he could, trying to avoid any sort of contact with the taller man. "Sh-Should we call someone?"

Shino looked over at him. "Well, this has never happened before. I guess we should. Do you _have_ a phone?"

Kiba shook his head. "It's on my desk…"

He gave the shorter man an aggravated look. "Then why bring it up?"

"Don't _you_ have one?? I thought you had one!"

"It's in my coat…in my cubicle."

"Well then, what are we supposed to do!?"

"I think there's an alarm…" He stood, going over to the module. "Yeah. There's an alarm here. That means there's also a phone to alert the elevator operators down in maintenance…" He sat back down, and Kiba just stared at him.

"Well, aren't you going to push it!? Call them!"

Shino shook his head, staring at his reflection in the doors. "No. I don't really want to go to work today." He sighed, putting his head in his hands. "I need some time alone to think…"

Kiba snorted. "Well, you're not exactly _alone_…"

He just looked at him, staring into his eyes and clearly telling him to shut up. He looked back up at the ceiling. There was a long moment of silence before he finally looked back to the ground, cheeks turning slightly pink. "She…She wants me to date her now…"

Kiba, whom had been staring at him the entire time, looked at him even harder. His eyes perked up, his anger flaring. "Wait, who!?"

"TenTen. She thinks I'm just the greatest guy in the world now and wants to date me."

Kiba's voice trembled. "W-Well…" He looked down, swallowing. "Then…what's the problem? You've asked her out before, right? That's what I've heard around the office…"

Shino sighed. "I _did_ ask her out, but now that she's interested, I just don't share the enthusiasm. She cornered me in my kitchen and pressed herself up against me, but all I wanted to do was shove her off me and go to work."

Kiba smirked, hope swelling in his chest. "A girl presses herself up against you and you aren't even the littlest bit turned on?"

"Hell no! I lost interest in her after she rejected me. Or…something…" He rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know." He narrowed his eyes. "I just…maybe I should?"

Kiba just gave him a flat look. "You're not interested in her. Why would you date someone you're not interested in?"

"Because she wants me to? Because that's what I _should_ do? I told you I don't know, damn it!"

"Th-There's no point in getting mad at _me_. It's not like _I_ want you to…" He caught himself as Shino looked up at him oddly. "…to go out with a girl just because she's interested in you… I mean…if you're not interested in her, then you shouldn't go out with her. That's just rude, right?"

Shino nodded his head and Kiba looked up at the ceiling, mumbling a silent thanks to whoever up there had helped him come up with that lie on the spot. After a long, long time, he looked back up at the ceiling.

"I'm sure I _am_ interested in her, though. I just need to remember what it was that was attractive about her in the first place…"

Kiba gave him a hopeful look. "Wait, you can't even _remember_ why you asked her out? What makes you think you interested in the first place? Maybe you were just lonely!"

Shino smiled. "So? Being lonely is an excuse. So what if I'm lonely? Everyone gets lonely at times…"

"That's why you hire hookers, Shino. You don't just ask a woman to date you. I mean, do you know how _rude_ that is??"

He took a deep breath, looking to his fingers. "When I was in high school, I first realized girls were interested in me. I had no idea why, but in my junior year, one girl asked me out. I can't remember her name anymore, but…when she asked me out, I just say yes without even giving it any thought. For the longest time when we were dating, I kept wondering why I said yes. I mean, it wasn't like I was interested in her or anything… When we dated, we kissed and everything, but it was never really… Well, there was never any effort on my part. Finally, I decided I'd break up with her because I felt it was rude to be leading her on like that." He chuckled. "She didn't cry or anything, almost like she knew I was going to eventually. But she did slap me and call me a 'distant fuckhead'. I'll never forget those words. Even to this day, I can't even deny how true that is. I _am_ distant. I just…" He sighed. "Sometimes I wish I were more like you."

Kiba gave him a big smile. "Well, if you were just like me, I probably wouldn't have wanted to be your friend in the first place!"

Shino looked at him, staring at him incredulously, like he couldn't believe he just said that. Then, he started to laugh. "Not even _you_ want to be your friend, Kiba? That's…that's actually really funny."

His jaw dropped. "That's not what I meant! So what if I'm loud…" He frowned a little, looking down at the ground. "Heaven knows you need someone who's loud to make you even somewhat talkative…"

Shino smiled, looking up at the ceiling. "Your sister said that you were always talking about me… And she said that she was glad I was your best friend…" He chuckled, shaking his head a little.

Kiba looked at him and he swallowed, his cheeks flushing red. "…I'm glad you're my best friend, too…"

Shino's eyes narrowed. "I think that's why I was so mad. Because your sister hung up on me twice last night…" He shrugged. "Yeah…that's probably it."

Kiba smiled, turning his eyes to stare at their reflections–him and Shino, side by side. "Well…yeah. Why else would you have gotten mad." He smiled. "You had a woman over at your apartment. It's…It's not like you were jealous of me and that one chick who tried to sleep with me or anything…"

Shino looked over at him, sizing him up and down. Kiba stared back at him, his cheeks slightly pink, swallowing, hoping. Shino stifled a laugh. "Yeah right! I'll bet the women you like are really manly, considering the fact you like being on bottom."

Kiba's eyes widened. "Uh…" His face went beet red and he stared down at his shoes. "…Well…" Why couldn't he think of anything to say? That'd caught him completely off guard! What the hell was he supposed to say to that!? He hated lying enough as it was! Was he supposed to say he liked manly women?? What!?

Shino snorted. "Nah, it's alright. The women I'm interested in are usually like you anyway."

Kiba looked back at him, jaw dropped, eyes wide, his face beet red. What the hell was Shino saying!? He _liked_ him!? He brushed his fingers through his hair, stuttering. "Wh-What… I mean, uh…wh-what is it about them that you like…?"

"They always wind up being loud and annoying. Oh, and they never know when to shut up."

He glared, smacking Shino on the shoulder. "You ass!" Shino started to laugh, and soon Kiba found himself laughing as well. He turned to Shino, smiling.

"You know what, Chouji was _totally_ right."

–––––––––––––––––––

_Kiba stormed into the office, looking absolutely miserable. He nearly tripped and fell into his chair, but Chouji caught him by the arm._

"_Woah, Kiba! Why are you looking so terrible? You look like your sister just got murdered!"_

_The shorter of the two sighed, and he looked over at Chouji. "…My friendship with Shino is over, Chouji. _Over_! We got into a fight last night, and there's no way he'll be able to forgive me for what I said! It would take years for him to even _think_ of our friendship the same way again!"_

_Chouji looked up at the ceiling, staring at the vents. "What do you mean?" He looked back at Kiba, a skeptical look on his face. "It can't be that bad. Me and Shikamaru had our arguments in the past, but we always made up after we talked it out. Haven't you thought about talking to Shino? You might be able to come to terms and forgive each other…"_

"_It would take a whole fucking lot of time for us to be okay with each other! There's absolutely _no_ way I'd be able to make amends!"_

_Chouji shrugged. "Like what…two hours? That seems like a good amount of time to talk things out…"_

"_More like two _years_! There's no way!"_

_Chouji smiled, patting Kiba on the back. "I'm sure there is… Well, why don't you just relax for now until he actually comes into work? Maybe an opportunity will present itself…"_

_Kiba sighed, sitting down in his desk finally. "Maybe you're right… I don't know…" He put his head in his hand, turning his computer on. "But I highly doubt it…"_

_Chouji looked up at the vents again, turning his eyes to the door. It swung open and he caught sight of the elevators. A smile crept onto his face and he walked over to the other aisle, tapping Shikamaru on the back._

_Shikamaru turned around, looking at him boredly. "What is it, Chou?"_

_Chouji put his hands behind his back, rocking back and forth on his heels. "You know the man who works the elevators personally, right? Come with me to the break room. I have something to tell you… It seems Kiba and Shino need some time alone to make amends for an argument they had the other day…"_

_Shikamaru's eyes rose, and he quickly stood, following him. "You? _You're _the one with the plan, Chou? This certainly is a development. How did this come about?"_

_His best friend just winked at him. "It just came to me…"_

––––––––––––––––

An hour later, the elevator started moving again, and after much bickering throughout the office over the elevators being broken, they managed to get back to work. Around lunch time, Kiba peeked over his cubicle. "Hey…pssst. Hey, Shino, buddy…"

Shino looked up, disgruntled again. "What _is_ it? I'm not going to lunch with you again…"

Shikamaru shot up, looking at the taller man. "Like hell you aren't! You're coming to lunch with us again. Me and Chouji and Kiba and Neji and Sasuke. Do you know how often we're able to get Sasuke to even _try_ and leave the office? That's almost as much as achievement as getting you to eat dinner with us. Come on, Shino. Do this for Sasuke, 'kay?"

Shino groaned, rubbing his hair. "Well…Maybe."

Neji walked past, snorting. "No. You're coming. After all, TenTen let slip that you came in with her today… I'd like to know how you two managed to show up at the same time. This is more of a development than Haku suddenly revealing he was getting a sex change operation."

Shino looked back at him, growling. "Fine…"

And that was how all six of them were at the Baked Alaska, eating what they normally ate. Neji was watching Shino like a hawk, and Shikamaru and Chouji were both chatting with Kiba over something he was extremely excited about. And then…of course…Sasuke was absorbed in his organizer.

Finally, Neji leaned over to the tallest man there. "So, did you see her pussy?"

Shino went red, nearly jumping up. "Wh-What!?"

Neji grinned. "TenTen's pussy. You saw it, right?"

Chouji gave him a disgusted look and Shikamaru went red at the very thought. Kiba stared at Neji like he'd just accused Shino of murdering someone, and Sasuke…Sasuke went on as usual.

Shino stuttered. "U-Um…TenTen doesn't _have_ a cat…"

There was a snort from the side of them all, and all of them turned to see Sasuke with his face buried in the organizer. The enigma finally burst out laughing and pointed at Shino. "She doesn't have a cat! She…She…Sh-She doesn't have a c-c-cat!!" He started to wheeze, and all of the men at the table were staring at him like he had just snapped.

Shikamaru snorted, and soon Neji had burst out laughing. Shino just stared at them. "Wh-what… I don't… Well, that's what you meant, right? I don't see what the big deal is about someone's _cat_… I mean…I personally can't stand cats."

This just prompted both Shikamaru and Chouji to join in on the hysterics. Neji, who had actually paused to take a drink, nearly spit up all over Shino's face. Shino just looked at Kiba, who was hiding a smile.

"What? What did I say? I hate cats… I mean, they _are_ cleaner than dogs, but they're always licking themselves…"

Kiba burst out laughing and all of the men were nearly in tears. Sasuke hit his fist on the table. "Shi-Shino! You're _killing_ me! S-S-S-Stop it! Just…Just don't say anymore!!"

Shino just shook his head, not really getting what they thought was so funny about it.

The door jingled, and a woman stepped in. "Hi, Shino…"

When all of the men turned to see TenTen, they all went red, trying their hardest to stop laughing. Neji put a hand over his mouth and turned immediately to his food, and Sasuke had to excuse himself to the restroom. Shikamaru and Chouji just turned to each other and snickered silently. Kiba was the only one who stopped laughing. He stared at her, his face pale, before he turned to Shino, dread creeping up his spine.

Shino stood, going to the door. She looked at the men and started to tremble, grabbing his sleeve. "Uh…could I…could I see you outside, please…?"

He nodded, standing and following her outside. They walked out a few feet, and their co-workers immediately went to the glass, hoping to catch a glimpse of some new development in Shino's love life.

There was some talking, before Shino finally leaned down and kissed her.

Kiba's face paled. He stood. "I…I have to go to the restroom…"

She gave him a hug, and then he said something. She slapped him, screamed something at him they couldn't hear, and stormed off. Shikamaru started to whisper something to Chouji, something bitter and angry all at once. Shino walked in, rubbing his cheek. He took his seat, looking at Kiba's empty seat. "Uh…where's Kiba?"

Shikamaru shrugged, his eyes narrow, voice holding a hint of jealousy. "He had to use the restroom. So…what happened?"

All of the men were on the edge of their seat, and Sasuke walked back out. Shino looked back at Sasuke. "Is Kiba alright?" Sasuke just shrugged, taking his seat.

Chouji pushed on his arm lightly, getting his attention. "What happened!?"

"Oh! Right…" Shino took a deep breath. "Well…she asked me if I wanted to get involved with her, and I said yes…"

Chouji's voice was barely over a whisper. "Why'd she slap you? That seems weird, right? You two get together and then she just slaps you… What the hell happened?"

He shrugged his shoulders, completely dumbfounded. "I asked when I'd see her pussy." Neji and Chouji and Sasuke all started to laugh again, and Shino rubbed his cheek, which was pounding like crazy. "And she said not until she could trust me…" Neji actually toppled out of his chair, he started laughing so hard.

Shino turned to Shikamaru, who was red and glaring at his food. "Uh…why did she get mad? I don't…really understand."

Shikamaru shot him a look, standing up sharply. "Pussy means vagina, you stupid fuck!" He stormed out of the building, and Chouji caught himself mid-laugh, wincing.

"Oh dear… I forgot he still liked her…" He dashed off, after his best friend. Shino was too busy blushing, he never even noticed Kiba stomping out the door and back to the office.


	13. It's Just Not FAIR!

_As a kid, I was a total dog person, but we could never get a dog because my brother was allergic to animal dander. Loud, always drawing dogs whenever I could, I even _prayed_ for a dog once. __Then a cat showed up on our doorstep, cold and abused and in need of a home since it was almost winter, and we took it in. Turns out my brother lost the allergy when he turned three, and my parents were using it as an excuse not to have to get a dog._

_Now I'm a cat person. Even down to how I act. Lazy, sleeping all day and noisiest at night, independent and refusing to listen to anyone else._

_Funny how life works, right? Like the things we wanted to be when we were kids. When I was four, I wanted to be a giant pink bunny. Guess how __that__ turned out, guys. :D And then after that it was a ballerina. Then a veterinarian. Then a famous pop-star/actor sensation (during my more…shy…years). Then an artist, yeah. And finally a writer. I'd like to either get a job as an editor, or even start my own publication company for more…"askew" book topics. Stuff like gay stuff and transsexual-themed novels. (I'm actually writing one that deals with a boy who wants to be a girl.) Sex and drugs and stuff that goes against mainstream society. Those are the books I want to see more of. Not stuff like…__Twilight__. Ugh. Vampires and werewolves…_again_? (Of course, I have _no_ room to talk since I'm writing my own vampire novel. Though it's a look at how a relationship between an older man and his "daughter" figure twists into something more like pedophilia when she reaches that age…and her body has stopped growing. At the time I was writing it, I was so proud of myself, thinking I'd come up with something really unique with vampires…and then _Twilight_ came out and had almost the exact same things as mine, and I was _so_ pissed. I stopped writing the entire thing. Yeah. Carlise, meet Lawrence! The _other_ pretty blonde-haired doctor of questionable age with children that look like they should be adopted. GAWD. I was SO upset over the whole thing… (Of course mine had him being haunted by his dead fiancée, Charlotte, who tries to murder him any chance she gets. And Victoria killed the mother Lawrence picked out for her because she wanted Lawrence all to herself. I know. Totally better than __Twilight__ right? No? Well, fuck you.) It was going to be hella more funny, too. __Twilight__'s like one big angst fest. Mine would be an attempt to make a vampire story that makes people shit themselves they laugh so hard. And then the second book in the series would come out, it'd be all serious and people would go, "What the hell is this shit, you stupid bitch? We don't want pedophilia! We don't want some massive attempt to calm down the raging hormonal brat! Bring back the comedy, damn it! We want to see some more of Absinthe's devilish antics!" (Absinthe is a little fifteen year old boy that feeds off of five humans rather than the recommended one like the other members of his family, because vampires turned at a younger age _totally_ have bigger appetites; Cain's an exception; he just gets an upset tummy when he drinks too much. (He was turned at, like, nineteen.) Absinthe's also the one that tries out the whole rat-catching-in-the-dungeon bit with Victoria and goes, "Woah! This tastes like shit!!" right before he goes in for another kill and two, and three, and four until he and Victoria get into a slap fight for the last one. He totally has the hots for Victoria, despite the fact that she's twelve, but that's only because she's the closest to his actual age. His best friend is Cain–a giant vampire who's a total teddy bear and is often found in the garden–whose poor body goes all out of whack when he drinks aged blood, so he's forced to leech off of children, and sometimes he gets sick and leaves the rest for later–which is how Absinthe came to be a vampire; he turned while Cain was off sick as a dog. Yes. My vampires have digestive problems. I'd like to see anyone come up with something more batshit-crazy than that.) _

_I only bring this (my transition from dog-person to cat-person, though the changing of what we want to be as we get older is also significant in this chapter) up because Shino's switching from a dog person to a cat person. And I mean, _really_. And he's going to bring up the best thing I like about bugs–finding mates. For instance, beetles (and even humans, to a degree) look for mates that are symmetrical on both sides. That's how they find the best specimen to mate with. Tee hee. Fun, right?_

_This is also the first instance in which I actually have Haku described as a complete woman in this story. Before it was simply Shino's observations, but now it's more in omniscient/TenTen's perspective, so Haku is actually referred to as "her" and "she" and stuff like that. Sorry if this disturbs anybody._

_And as for the implications with Neji regarding him going to Ice–don't look into it. I never really decided if I would make him gay or not. After all, Ice is not really a "gay club", so of course, since it is a club in general, Neji would totally go there if the drinks were good and the music was danceable. But if you like the idea of him being gay, totally go ahead and make that into his reason for going to Ice in your head. He's like Sasuke in this story–neither of them really have a pairing, and both of them tend to be more focused on more important things._

_Back onto __Twilight__…did anyone find Edward's midnight visits to Bella's bedroom just a little bit creepy? I mean…what's not to say he's watching her change…? And the fact that he listens to the stuff she says in her sleep? What a fucking pervert. :O I don't care what anybody says…he's a PERVERT._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 13_

TenTen stormed into her office, throwing copies of _Love Quarterly for Her_ around her office. A scream threatened to erupt from her throat, but she passed it off. She couldn't _believe_ Shino had even _asked_ her that! He was a fucking _pervert_! She didn't care if he'd looked as clueless as a child when he asked that, he must've been lying! Every guy knew what that word meant! He'd been with _Karin_ for crying out loud! Karin certainly seemed like the type of person that referred to it as her pussy proudly!

There was a knock on the door, and she looked up to see Haku stepping in, hot pink pumps wobbling a little on all of the glossy magazines scattered everywhere. She looked at her friend, sighing a little, a look of relief on her face.

"Yes, Haku?"

Haku was holding a magazine in her hand, the yellow cover of the magazine clashing with the chipped turquoise nail polish adorning the raven-haired woman's fingernails, and TenTen took it from her. "What's…What's this?"

The woman shrugged. "I don't know. About an hour ago, a woman came in looking for you. She looked like that one girl you told me about way back when, so I figured I'd just deliver it to you personally and skip you meeting her face-to-face… I…I tried to find you around lunch, but they told me you'd left…"

TenTen smiled, giving Haku a warm hug. "That was very kind…"

"She said there was something in the Q&A section she wanted you to read…" Haku went back to the door, looking back a little and running a hand through her hair, pursing her glossed lips together. "Oh, and TenTen…"

The brunette looked back at her, looking a bit weary. "Y-Yes…?"

"Everything's going to be okay… That's what you told me, wasn't it?" Haku's smile warmed even further. "It's about time you realized your concern for the working woman isn't just an act for your job… You genuinely care, you know…?"

TenTen stuttered, trying to find some words to say to that–it had never occurred to her she'd even _told_ Haku about her thoughts on the matter. "I…I don't…I don't know what to say… Uh…th-thank you, Haku…" Her cheeks went red, and she looked at the cover in her hands. "I…I'm really grateful…"

"You're welcome. Just know you don't have to do everything alone…" Haku took her leave, and TenTen shuffled the papers and magazines up, shoving them into a corner for the time being. She swallowed, opening up the magazine to her advice column. It was last month's. One of the letters was circled, and she started to read what it said.

"_Dear TenTen,_

"_Things have been going badly for me. I quit my job and tried my hand at acting, but when I tried to raise my standards to Broadway, they laughed in my face and told me it was an impossibility. Since then, I have been unable to bring myself to stand foot in the theatre. I've nearly exhausted my monetary resources, which is even worse since I can't go back to my old job…_

"_I had a friend who used to give me all the support I needed and more, but due to a mix up with a man she thought still loved me, we haven't spoken for nearly a year. I desperately want to talk to her and get the support I need, but I'm terrified she'll completely reject me again. But there's more!_

"_I heard she's doing quite well for herself and working at a company that truly respects her, at a company she's doing more for than she ever could at the old one. As crazy as it sounds, I can't help but feel that our friendship being shattered helped her more than it ever could have if she stayed there for me. So I ask you, TenTen, should I go to the company she works at and try to get a job there to seek her out and repair our friendship, or is that just me being selfish for a desperate need of some sort of emotional support from an old friend?_

"_Signed,  
Friendless on Broadway"_

Her eyes widened, and the acrid taste of vomit made its way to her throat. She clamped her hand over her mouth and stared at the words on the page. She remembered this one vividly. It had reminded her so much of Sakura, she'd felt strangely compelled to put it in print. It had even been signed simply as "S. H."

She sucked in a breath and found tears making their way to her eyes. She didn't even have to read the response; she remembered exactly what she'd written.

"_Dear Friendless on Broadway,_

"_It certainly seems like you can afford to be just a little bit selfish in the situation you're in. In fact, by the sounds of it, it would do well to patch things up for the sake of the friendship. It's not often a friendship comes around that leaves that sort of hole behind, and in a fast-paced world, what women need more are friends who can give them the support they need._

"_By the sounds of it, it sounds like your friend needs some support as well. I would suggest offering her some help as well. There's nothing that repairs a friendship better than by providing something to lean on in a time of need. It strengthens it, tightens the bonds. I can assure you that your friend's success won't be ruined by the return of an old friend, even if there was a man involved. Often times, the second the man leaves the picture, things go right back to the way they were and both women realize how silly they've been._

"_So, in response to your question, I can tell you that the best thing you can do is to take that job offer and try to repair that friendship in the process. And if the friendship fails to repair itself with a little bit of communication, at least you'll have the job to support you money-wise._

"_Best Regards and Good Luck,  
TenTen"_

She broke down at her desk, realizing just how foolish she'd been. After about a good thirty minute cry, she redid her make-up and straightened herself in her chair. This was it. There was no way she'd let any of this get the best of her. The second Shino walked in that door to explain himself–and she was certain he would–, she'd accept him with open arms…despite the fact he'd asked her the _one_ question he shouldn't have asked.

After all, Rock Lee was in the past, and there was no going back, no matter how perfect he had been.

–––––––––––––––

– One Week Later –

–––––––––––––––––––

Neji sighed, flipping through a few papers. He grumbled and stood slightly, looking over his cubicle, way, _way_ off on the other side of the aisle where Sasuke was doing his work with the only kind off efficiency an innate desire to beat one's brother at his own game could give someone. He sighed, going back to the papers he was flipping through, a heated internal conflict running through his head.

In one hand there was Sasuke Uchiha, someone who was a complete loser thus far and would probably never amount to anything since his brother was so great; and in the other was his own uncle's stock-broker firm, a company he'd never be able to be a part of unless something terrible, god willing, befell his cousin. It was doing far better than Itachi's company, that was for sure.

The idea he'd mentioned almost three weeks earlier had been stewing in his head, and he was pretty sure Sasuke never would've thought of it on his own, considering the fact he was so obsessed with making a _glasses_ company that would compete with Itachi's.

And then…there resting on top of his head, was the prospect of selling the idea to Sasuke's brother. He'd make millions if the deal went well, and he became an actual partner. But that would require a trip to Ice, and the last time he went there–three days ago–, some freak with blond hair and a funny way of talking kept calling him Mr. Fate and trying to sleep with him. He hated it when sleazes tried to pick him up, men or women.

But still…Sasuke would probably be a better bet at getting a partnership with him. That is, after Suigetsu quit the company and stopped going to dinner with the less-than-famous Uchiha.

It had been a week since he'd seen Sasuke at lunch, but the opportunity was lost after Shino dropped that "bomb" on them and TenTen suddenly started dating him… Perhaps he could just go over and talk to him… Sasuke would surely set his work aside if it was something related to business…

He shoved the papers off to the side and stood, determined. He made his way over to Sasuke's desk, making sure to appear nonchalant. "Hey, Sasuke…"

"If this is a pass at me, I'll have to decline. I don't swing that way, Hyuuga."

"What about a _business_ pass?"

Sasuke turned, eyes narrow, tone suspicious. "…What've you got?"

–––––––––––––––––––

Kiba peered over the cubicle to his "ex-friend"–it was nearing lunch time. "Shino, buddy… Hey, Shino…I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch with–"

"Can't. I'm going to be with TenTen for lunch…" Shino mumbled, going over a memo and circling a typographical error. If there was one thing he hated, it was when Jiraiya handed out memos that had errors in them. He didn't even look up from his work to look Kiba in the eyes and tell him that.

Kiba groaned. "Come _on_, Shino! It's been seven days since we hung out! Tomorrow's July 4th! We _have_ to do something then!!"

"I'll be celebrating with TenTen."

"What about my birthday on Monday! Don't tell me you'll be busy with TenTen then, too!!"

Shino cleared his throat, finally looking up at him, shrugging. "I…might. I don't really know. I'll _try_ and make room for a party or something. I'm sure Shikamaru and Chouji are planning something… They've been whispering to each other all week…"

Kiba's jaw dropped, and he sat back down. He…might. _Might_!? This was his best friend, for crying out loud! Bro's before ho's!! For the longest time he tried to bore holes in the cubicle, hoping he'd see at least a glimpse of the man he had had a semi-intimate moment with before, until he finally gave up. He frowned, feeling tears worming their way to his cheeks. It wasn't like him to get this upset unless it was something really stupid or he was drunk as hell, but…but this was…

He made his way to the break room, going for a cup of coffee to calm him down. To his surprise, he saw Neji and Sasuke in there, faces leaned close, voices barely over a whisper. He nearly jumped out of his pants when Sasuke turned and glared at him, shooing him away with his hand.

Neji spoke up. "Come back later. We have important things to discuss, and we don't want you stealing my ideas…"

"_Our_ ideas."

Neji's eyes rolled. "Right. _Our_ ideas…"

Kiba stuttered a quick apology and retreated to the only place left–the men's restroom. He locked himself in a stall, sitting on the toilet for the longest time, staring at his shoes. After a while, he felt something wet make its way to his face, and he rubbed at his cheeks. There, in a shameless display of loneliness, were the signs that he really _did_ need Shino more than he ever thought possible. He looked up at the ceiling, biting his lip, just a little bit angry.

"Asshole. Going to go spend the Fourth of July with a girl you've only been involved with for a week rather than your best friend and his sister, who really wants to meet you for once…"

There was a sound from the sinks, and soon he heard Chouji's voice over the stall door. "Shikamaru went through that when I started dating Hinata. Only I'd known him for at least twenty years, so I think he had more of a right to be upset than you… You've only known Shino for what…three weeks at least?"

Kiba sighed, rubbing the tears from his eyes and standing up, swinging the door open. He saw Chouji by the sink, a Pixie Stick in his hand. He'd poured the powder out and was licking it off of his palm. Kiba gave him a weird look, and Chouji chuckled.

"I know. It's kinda childish, right? That's why I eat them in the bathroom."

Kiba wiped at his eyes again and gave the larger man a small smile. "Well…I've been known to do childish things before…"

Chouji nodded. "Like cry like a baby over a man?"

Kiba's face went beet red. "N-Not just any m-m-man, Chouji! He's…He's my best friend!!"

Chouji shrugged, finally getting the last of it and discarding the trash. "So you like Shino, big whoop. You don't have to lie about it to me and Shikamaru. We've been in the know ever since Shino said you stayed the night over at his place. And you wound up not showing up to work the day after that whole thing happened, and when you came into work again you were a mess, so I figured there was something going on."

Kiba's jaw dropped. "Wh-What…Wh-What makes you think th-_that_!? Shino's straight!"

The larger man laughed. "Actually, I just figured _you_ were gay because Shikamaru was driving by Ice one night and there was some weird blonde guy with his hand on your face. We were stopped at a red light, and we saw how he winked at you and how you ran after him a few seconds later." He shrugged his shoulders. "I can see why you'd want to keep it a secret, though. Me and Shikamaru grew up in a fairly conservative area…so…we've witnessed school bullying over the whole gay issue…"

Kiba choked back the queerest urge to sob and shook his head in disbelief. "So…so you two knew the _whole_ time? Wh-What about Neji and Sasuke?"

Chouji shrugged. "Well, we're hoping they assumed you were just angry for TenTen rather than Shino…" He shrugged. "Both of them have their heads so far up their asses, they probably didn't think anything of it…"

Kiba's eyes widened, and Chouji's cheeks went pink. "Well…that's what Shikamaru says… He used to say that about Shino, but Shino changed considerably after he met you… It's funny to hear him actually _laugh_ now." Kiba sighed, and Chouji grabbed his sleeve. "That's why…I am planning on helping you. Might do that guy some good, you know? I don't know how we'll accomplish that since there's a higher chance Shino's straight, but me and Shikamaru have already messed with his head before, and he really doesn't seem that interested in TenTen. I mean…I've never _seen_ such a dispassionate kiss of a man who was rejected and pounced upon by a woman he asked out before…"

Kiba stuttered. "But…I already think he might've been jealous…because I told him about the blond…and how nothing happened, and how he got really mad…"

Chouji's breathing hitched, and he gave him a long, long look. "Shino…Shino was _jealous_?"

"Wh-What!? Jealous?? N-No! He was probably just scared because the way I made it sound it made it sound like I was raped or something…" Kiba started to laugh, just as Shikamaru walked in, yawning and unzipping his fly. "I…can't believe I even thought he was jealous in the first place. It was just something a friend told me…and I was being a little too hopeful…"

"You guys mind if I take a piss during your conversation…?"

Chouji completely ignored his best friend, poking Kiba hard in the chest. "But you thought he was jealous! Shikamaru was always jealous of me when I got girlfriends, but the first time I got laid he was driving all the way out of his way to a city ten miles away just to go get an ice cream cake! Getting laid is something men are never jealous of unless they like the woman sleeping with the man or they don't get enough luck with women!"

Shikamaru finished up, eyes narrowing, as he went to the sink and started washing his hands. His voice was low. "Shino got lucky with TenTen, didn't he?"

Chouji made a motion toward the jealous pineapple-head, his eyebrows rising as he stared at Kiba. "See what I mean!? He's super jealous because TenTen's the one girl he wants to have his first with!"

Shikamaru eyes widened. "Woah there, big guy! I am _not_ a virgin, Chou."

Chouji just rolled his eyes. "Shikamaru, I'm trying to help Kiba with his Shino problem."

Shikamaru's voice rose. "Great! So he finally admits he's a flamer!" Kiba shot him a horrified look and Shikamaru sighed, rolling his eyes. "I guess I'm still in a bad mood over that whole TenTen issue… Sorry. _Homosexual_. Am I being politically correct _now_?" He glared, shoving his arms across his chest. "Sheesh. What is wrong with people these days? Can't say two words without people thinking you hate their race or gender or colour or creed or sexual orientation or the very way they live their life… Sheesh. I'm surprised I haven't just stopped talking completely. The only people who don't give a shit are hookers these days!"

Chouji glared. "Hookers are people, too, Shikamaru!"

"What_ever_. Now what's this with Shino getting lucky with TenTen?"

Chouji was on the verge of screaming. "He hasn't gotten lucky with her! We don't even know if he's completely straight! Remember?? He got all flustered when we started accusing him of being gay!"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No. He's slept with Ino before. I'll bet he knows every curve of her soft skin…" Kiba gave Shikamaru another horrified look, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "It's not sexual harassment if she never catches wind of it…" Chouji gave him a horrified look. "It's not like I drive by where she lives and peep into her window, you two! You act like fantasizing is a bad thing!"

Chouji looked at Kiba, mouthing the word "virgin", and Kiba just nodded. Shikamaru groaned, leaning against the sink, tired of refuting that single little word. "So. What's this whole thing with Shino…"

Kiba bit his lip. "He…He stopped spending time with me. I'm very upset about it, because he's spending Fourth of July with _her_! I even told him my sister wanted to meet him and he refused!"

Shikamaru looked up at the ceiling. "That bitch!" When both men looked at him, he rolled his eyes, looking at them. "What? How does she like Shino more than me? What does _he_ have that I don't? I mean, I actually _know_ I'm straight! I _know_ what pussy means! In short, I'm _smarter_ than him and ten times more dedicated!!" When Chouji shot him a look, he sighed, glaring at the floor. "To _her_, alright? No way am I going to choose work over her. That should be _me_ helping her with her little troublesome problems…"

Chouji glanced over at Kiba. "Him saying stuff like that just proves how much he likes her. Usually he'd lose interest the second he realized how much of a hassle it would be…"

"Could you just _stop_ relaying every little thing about me to him? He's _not_ going to take your place one of these days, Chouji. Geez." He looked over at one of the stalls, suddenly noticing it was closed. "What the hell? Who the hell is in that stall?"

A bored-sounding voice replied. "Ah, damn. I was hoping you three would leave and I could avoid anyone knowing I was here…"

"What the hell, you old man!? You heard the everything!?" The second those words left Shikamaru's mouth, Kiba had to suppress the urge to faint.

"Who cares who's gay and who likes who? I'm more concerned about my children…and this book I'm reading…"

Chouji rolled his eyes, glancing at Kiba. "Old man's always got his head in a book. You shouldn't worry about him. He barely ever mentions a word outside of things that are necessary."

"You have _no_ right to call me old, Akimichi. I'm nowhere near as old as Jiraiya. That man should've died years ago, but he's still going strong…"

Kiba's interest took hold. "Must be a good book if you reading it on the toilet… What book is it?"

"It's the last book in the series. And it's just gotten _good_. You probably wouldn't like it, though… 'S called Icha Icha Paradise…"

Shikamaru snorted, "Pervert." The door to the stall opened, and Kakashi stepped out.

"Oh? I'm not fantasizing about that nice secretary at the front desk." He gave them a soft smile and left, and Shikamaru just shot him an incredulous look.

"_Nice_?? That Ino is a _scorpion_ in high heels!! And Karin's not much better…" He sighed, turning to Chouji. "It's nice to see _someone_ in the office is more clueless than Shino." That's when he turned his sights on Kiba. "Listen, since Shino won't spend the Fourth of July with you, _we'll_ do the job for you. You can come with us, and I can take you to some nice strip joint. How about that?"

Chouji nearly smacked his friend on the back of the head, but he suppressed the urge. They weren't children anymore. "…Kiba's gay. He wouldn't want to go to a strip joint filled with half-naked women… And _especially_ not the one you usually go to. That place smells…"

"Well, La-Di-Da…" He pouted a little. "Whatever. They've got a fireworks show over the harbor. We can always hang out at our place for a few hours or he can eat dinner with us, and then we can go down to that fireworks show, right? That'll be just as great."

Kiba's face lit up. "That'd be great! Instead of dinner at your place, we can eat at my sister's suite! I'm sure she'd love to meet you guys! After all, you guys are my friends!"

Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged looks, before Shikamaru looked back at the other, much shorter, man, voicing the determining factor. "Is your sister willing to cook for ten people?"

–––––––––––––––––––

The next day, Kiba got up bright and early, finding his sister in the kitchen, getting out all of the meat they'd be needing to cook. His sister looked back at him upon hearing him behind her. "Kiba, why _exactly_ am I making so much food when there's only going to be _two_ of your friends coming?"

"Because Chouji _loves_ barbeque. Oh!" He ran over, peering over all the ribs and various other meats that were going to be doused in barbeque sauce. "By the way, Shikamaru is a vegetarian, so cut back on the meat a little, okay?"

She threw her hands up in the air, taking a step away from counter. "It could have helped to know about this beforehand, Kiba! Exactly how much meat should I be preparing?? You _know_ how difficult it is for me to barbeque anything considering the fact I have no _grill_ to cook with! You know what, I'm making a roast and…and I'll have a rub on it, and we can put more barbeque sauce on it if you want, and everything will be fine. Should I make a salad for this vegetarian friend of yours or should I prepare the same meal I'm making Juugo?"

Kiba gave her a horrified look. "A…A _roast_?? But we usually have those on special occasions! This is the _Fourth of July_, Hana! It calls for barbeque ribs and everything imaginable!"

Hana started to laugh. "Kiba, if you want barbeque ribs, you might as well just _order_ them from some place. Because I am _not_ cooking all of this food just for _two_ people and Juugo." Her eyes widened, as an idea crossed her. "That's it! We're going _out_ to eat!"

Kiba sighed, biting his lip and nearly throwing a tantrum. "But Hana! We can't just go _out_ to eat! Do you know how much money it would cost?? And you already bought all of that meat. It would be a waste to just _not_ cook it today…"

"About as much money as it cost to buy nearly a month's worth of meat, Kiba! We're going out to eat, and that's final! I'll get my own table with Juugo alone, and then you and your little friends can spend the rest of the night partying or whatever it is you're all planning on doing…"

"A _kiddie_ table, Hana!? A _kiddie_ table! That's what you want me to do! You want to go sit off with the _adults_ and force me and my friends to sit at a _kiddie_ table!"

Hana just rolled her eyes, starting to put the meat away. "I'll stop putting you at a kiddie table when you stop throwing temper tantrums…"

"I'm turning _thirty_ in four days, Hana!"

Hana smiled, walking over and giving her brother a kiss on the forehead. "And that's not nearly enough time for you to grow up and start acting that age, my dear little brother…" She went back, stowing away the last chunk of meat in the freezer, and stepped toward the entrance to the kitchen. "Now if you don't mind, I'd rather go back to sleep. It's the only day I'm going to get off until Labor Day."

"Mom _always_ used to barbeque stuff for Fourth of July! And Dad was always switching the sauce on her so it wound up spicier than she liked! Why can't we just have a dinner like that!? I miss those kinds of dinners!"

Hana wheeled around, always preferring her father–as close-minded and strict as he was–over their mother. "Dad's _dead_, Kiba! He's not here to switch the sauces on us, and he never will be! If you want Mom's barbeque so much, just request she make you some when we go back and visit!! I am not _Mom_! I don't enjoy standing around all day in the heat and barbeque crap for her family! I never liked it back home!"

Kiba pouted. "You…you never liked it back home? But you were always going on about how it would be nice to go back and settle down there… You said…you'd like to start your own clinic back home…"

She sighed. "Life is full of surprises, Kiba. I thought I'd have enough time to spend with Dad, but look at what happened… I thought I was going to go and become a veterinarian, too, until I realized this job suits me much better and I went for it at the university."

Kiba growled, stalking back to his room. "Yeah, well I always thought you were too nice to be a greedy, hardass prosecutor…" He slammed the door, his voice very faint from within his hidey-hole. "You _know_ you would've been great at it, Hana! You're above this shitty line of work you're involved in now!"

Akamaru padded out of his room, taking interest in what was going on now. Hana sighed, patting the dog on the head as she filled up his bowl and went to her brother's door. She knocked on it lightly, trying her best to ignore the huge gulping sounds coming from the kitchen.

"Kiba?"

"What!?"

She sighed, knocking on the door again. "Would you unlock the door?"

"No!"

"Fine. Then we'll just argue with Akamaru listening to our squabble and he'll develop issues living here. Would you like that better? You know he's practically stuck here since it's so difficult for him to fit into a car and planes refuse to take him unless he's in those crates reserved for zoo animals…"

There was some shuffling until the lock clicked and the knob slowly turned. Kiba peeked out at her, his face still set in a deep frown. "What? I can throw a temper tantrum if I want to…"

"You turn thirty in four days. I'm pretty sure it's time for you to grow up." She swung the door open, barging her way in until she spied a dirty magazine on the floor. She rolled her eyes, picking it up and showing it to Kiba.

"Don't leave your filth lying around in _my_ house."

Kiba quirked a brow, finding it in him to smirk. "Why? I found it in _your_ room, pervert…"

She looked at it, recognition slowly crossing her face. She gave him a "touché" look, folding it up and putting it under her arm. "So it is. But I can totally explain it. A co-worker asked me to hold onto it for her."

Kiba's smile just grew. "So you figured you'd hold onto it…under your mattress…?"

She glared. "What are you doing looking around in my room, anyway!? I never look through your room! Have some privacy!!"

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Then stop making me wash your thongs. Do you know how embarrassing it is to go down to the Laundromat carrying those around?" He went to his drawer, whipping out a condom, his voice rising excitedly. "Lookie-Lookie! Look at what _I_ found! I thought Juugo was a gorilla, but it runs deeper than that, huh??"

She grabbed it from him, her face flushing scarlet and her voice breaking. "K-Kiba! My sex life is _none_ of your business! And neither is what I do with my time or what's stowed away under my mattress or behind my radio!"

Kiba's eyebrows rose, becoming energized. "Oh! Behind your radio! I'm going to have to check out what you hid _there_! Must be small, considering it has to fit on the windowsill behind a tiny little radio!"

Her face darkened, and she grabbed his hand before he could dart off. "Kiba! We still haven't discussed why you're so upset!! Why are you suddenly caring _now_ about back home!? When Mom offered your place back into the family, you declined; you said you liked it here… Dad's _dead_. There's no reason for you to _not_ go back…"

Kiba's face fell, and he crossed his arms over his chest. "That's why we're visiting Mom in a week…"

She just narrowed her eyes at him, and he looked off to the side, cheeks turning pink. "I just… Sometimes I wish I could go back home and visit Mom more often. I dunno…" His eyes turned to a dirty shirt lying on his ground. He hadn't washed it since he wore it to Shino's house. "…Don't you wish you could sometimes just…go back in time and undo all the things you did wrong…?"

Hana rolled her eyes, turning her eyes to the dog that was about to invade Kiba's personal space. "What did Shino do this time?"

Kiba's face flared up, as did his anger. "He's dating TenTen now and refusing to spend time with _me_!! He even told me he _might_ make it to a birthday party for me! What the hell!? He's my best friend, damn it! He should be making time for _me_, not _her_! At the end of the day, _she's_ the one he's going to sleep with! He should be more concerned with the needs of his friends!"

"So…Shikamaru and Chouji don't count to spending Fourth of July with us?"

"Well, no…I mean…they're my friends and all…but…but Shino's…"

"Different?"

"Yes. He's different. Shikamaru and Chouji even said they'd help me out and all, but…it's… It's just not fair! I want to see him _today_!" He turned to Hana, taking a place on the bed. When she took a spot next to him and Akamaru came over and shoved his head in Kiba's chest, Kiba finally found it in him to calm down.

He patted Akamaru on the head, turning his eyes to his sister. "Hana…I miss Mom most on the holidays…" He sighed, looking at the dog in front of him. "More than Shino, I want it to be Mom coming over and having dinner with us…"

"So…when you said you never wanted to go back home and live there…you were lying?"

"No! I wasn't lying. I just… Mom's the only reason why I would _ever_ want to go back to that shit hole. I mean, I had so many _memories_ there…but there were also so many dirty looks after they found out I was gay. Everyone was glaring at me, and Dad was yelling at me most of the time, saying I was no son of his and I was out of the will…" He sighed, resting his head on the top of his dog's head. "Mom was the only one that gave me any source of comfort during that time… You know that old geezer that smelled like booze and piss…the one that worked at the pharmacy? Well, I went in to pick up some Advil, and without me even asking he grabbed a pack of Trojans and threw them down on the counter! Like I was some sort of sex-crazed maniac!! And forget about the guy I was with! He got out of the house while I was arguing with Dad in the living room, and he broke it off immediately! He said he was just _experimenting_! He'd picked me up at a bar, when _I_ was drunk, and wouldn't even face up to the consequences at the thought of his family's reputation!" Akamaru dashed out the door when his master's voice rose, and Kiba looked over at Hana bitterly.

"Mom is the _only_ reason why I'd _ever_ go back to that town… Everyone else there is full of shit…"

Hana smiled, putting an arm around his shoulder. "Kiba… When we go down to visit Mom, you can ask her to make some barbeque. And, just for you, I'll make sure to switch the sauce so she winds up screaming at us over the dinner table. Is that okay?"

Kiba gave her a soft smile. "Yeah. That sounds great…"

Hana smiled, nearly tripping over Akamaru, who'd come back in when everything settled down. Kiba watched her, before blurting out, "I was looking for the family album…"

Hana peeked in again. "What?"

"Why I was in your room…" He looked down to his barefeet, grabbing his knees. "I was looking for that family album you took with you when you left for college… The one where Mom got me that jacket and I kept acting like I was _so_ cool… I wore my hats backward for an entire week…" He started to laugh, and Hana smiled.

"It's at the top of your closet. I stowed it away there thinking it'd be my library. But then you moved in, and I figured it was right where it needed to be so I left it there."

Kiba grinned back at her. "Thanks."

–––––––––––––––––––––

All eyes were directly on the man scarfing down ribs as if they were his last meal. Shikamaru just stared at his friend, smiling a little and hoping he'd stop–all of that meat was staring to make him nauseous. His eyes turned to Kiba, who was eating just as much, and over at Kiba's sister, who seemed to like meat just as much as her brother. His face scrunched up and he looked over at Juugo, who simply had a vegetarian platter in front of him. Ah! His one savior at this meat-crazed table!

He leaned over, pointing toward Chouji. "He really likes barbeque…"

Juugo's eyes rose, and he looked over at Chouji, silent as ever. He glanced over at Hana, nudging her with his hand. She looked up at him, sauce all over her face, looking like blood. He cringed at the sight slightly, giving a forced smile and grabbing a napkin, wiping it off her face. She giggled and grabbed it from him, finishing off the job. "Juugo, I'm a big girl…"

Juugo finally spoke–the first words the whole night! "I'm aware…"

Kiba's face shot up and he stared at Juugo with intense eyes. "You don't have to bring her sex life up!"

Juugo's face went flat and he turned red. "I…wasn't talking about her sex life. She's thirty-six–she's more than qualified to have the title of 'big girl'."

Hana swatted her hand at her brother. "Don't…um…don't bring that up again, Kiba. He's shy. And especially not in front of your friends."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Obviously. He barely says two words to me whenever I see him. He should start warming up to me about now! I mean, he's going to be part of the family soon!"

Both of their faces went red and Hana swatted him again. "Kiba! Not right now, alright?? We haven't been discussing anything like that at all!"

Kiba's voice rose. "He's a gorilla, Hana! You look so small when you're standing next to him! I'm terrified he's going to crush you! You're just so petite!"

Shikamaru laughed, stating the obvious. "You should be more worried about him crushing _you_, Kiba. You're shorter than Hana. Besides, I don't see where you get petite out of that… She still looks voluptuous…" He said, as he sized her up and down observantly.

Juugo stood, jaw nearly dropping. "Ex-Ex_cuse_ me? Say that again and you might find yourself crushed."

Hana stood, her arms going immediately to Juugo's chest. "Boys! I don't give a rat's ass what any of you say about me. There's no need to get angry on my behalf." She looked at Juugo, voice low. "Especially since I know the damage you can really do if you go psycho in this restaurant."

Shikamaru's eyebrows rose. "What was that?"

Chouji looked up as well, suddenly seeing something wrong with how her voice lowered. "Wait, is something going to happen?"

Hana groaned, pushing Juugo back into his seat as best as she could and wishing to _God_ she'd taken Kiba's advice and eaten at home. Akamaru would've mellowed him out to the point where he wouldn't've even cared about that voluptuous comment. "Boys, just…sit down and eat." She turned to Juugo. "You shouldn't be getting so angry with Shikamaru; he's also a vegetarian. I'm sure you two could get along quite well…"

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, suspicious. "You aren't…_vegan_, are you?"

Juugo's ears perked at the familiar term, and he turned to Shikamaru, shaking his head erratically. "No. I just don't eat meat that comes from mammals. I'll eat fish and shellfish if they're put in front of me. Chicken is good, too, but I draw the line at mammals…"

Shikamaru's face brightened considerably. "Oh, wow! So you're one of those weird types that is a bit more picky in what you actually _eat_!" He looked at Chouji, poking his fork at the man, forgetting it was a bit rude. "This is the type of person I can get along with." He turned back to Juugo, ready to share his story.

"So, when did you first decide to become a vegetarian? I was actually in my teens when my Dad took me hunting and forced me to kill a buck. And so–"

Juugo's fork dropped from his hand and he gave the younger man a horrified look. Hana winced, halting Shikamaru's story with her hand. "Shikamaru, please don't mention that to him! Deer are his favorite…"

The bigger man's eyes misted over and he buried his face in his hands. "Ah, geez… That's just like when my Dad took me hunting way back when… I'll never forget it… I accidentally shot a fawn…" He broke down, and Shikamaru winced, standing.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hey now, calm down, big guy." Chouji shot Shikamaru a look that was clearly reserved for the instances in which he felt betrayed, but the genius never noticed. He walked over, patting Juugo on the back, trying his hardest to keep the man from bellowing out in the restaurant and causing an even bigger scene. "Hey, hey, hey! It could be much worse! You could have shot a human being!"

Juugo froze, and Hana grabbed Shikamaru by the scruff of his neck, her voice low. "Don't say that. You don't know what he's capable of."

Juugo looked up at the genius, wearing a look that was both anxious and angry all at the same time. He stood, immediately storming toward the men's room. Hana dropped her brother's co-worker, looking after him. Shikamaru took a shaky step back and finally collapsed into his chair. He glanced up at Hana with wide eyes before he leaned over toward Kiba. "Your sister is dating a psychopath. He's shot a _man_ before?"

Kiba nodded. "Juugo used to be a police officer. Shot first way too many times. Even shot his partner when he got too angry. Eventually he was kicked off the force and forced to see a psychiatrist. Apparently Hana prosecuted against him once, tried to make the court see he needed to be put in prison. They pleaded mental insanity and he got off with a shrink. The way Hana described it, he looked _very_ unwilling when he pleaded, too." He shoved a roll into his mouth, speaking with his mouth full. "He got a job at the post office, is doing much better, and apparently he likes my sister _because_ she tried to lock him away. Funny how life works, right?"

Shikamaru stared at Kiba for a long moment before he chuckled, looking down at his plate. "Wow. Your family is _fucked_ up, Kiba…"

Kiba grinned, pieces of roll falling out of his mouth. "Heh heh. Easy for you to say, Shikamaru, buddy. Chouji tells me your mother wears the pants in _your_ family."

Shikamaru glared at the bigger man, and Chouji looked up, suddenly aware he was the topic of the conversation. "Wh-What did I do?"

Shikamaru's glare dissipated and he gave his best friend a soft smile. "…You've got food _everywhere_, Chou." He stifled a laugh, as Chouji's eyes widened in horror.

He wiped it away as best as he could, not even coming _close_ to the sauce that somehow splattered over his eye, all over his forehead. "Did I get it?"

Kiba snorted and burst out laughing, food flying from his mouth. Hana slammed her fist into the table, sitting down angrily. "Kiba! Keep your mouth shut when you're eating! Geez! Didn't you learn _anything_ when you were a kid!? Honestly!"

The men just looked at her, quite frightened. Kiba's cheeks went red and he went silent, swallowing the remains in his mouth. "…Sorry, Hana, sis."

Shikamaru shot the shorter man a victorious grin, and Chouji went back to his food, hungrily. Kiba turned to Chouji, laughing, completely forgetting Shino's warning in his giddiness. "Hey, Chouji, buddy! Have a little moderation, will'ya?? You act like this is your first time tasting food! Have you ever thought you should go on a diet? You're gettin' a little fatter!"

Shikamaru froze, and Hana glanced up to reprimand her brother for not watching his mouth…again. But something amazing happened…something none of them expected.

Chouji looked up, _smiling_.

Shikamaru watched with amazed eyes, with bated breath, as Chouji chuckled happily.

"Did you say something, Kiba?"

Kiba stared at him, grinning like mad. "Yeah! I said you're f–" Shikamaru shot over to him like a light, clamping his hand over his mouth.

He laughed manically, hoping Chouji wouldn't assume anything. "Fantastic, Chou! He said you were _fantastic_! You're the most fantastic person in the entire world! Nothing like a fantastic friend to have, right Kiba??"

Kiba looked at him, his memory returning. When Shikamaru released him, he nodded his head fervently. "Yeah! You're a fantastic friend, Chouji, buddy!" Chouji nodded happily and returned to his food, just as Juugo walked back, all dried up and ready to eat.

"But you could still stand to lose some weight."

"What!?"

–––––––––––––––––––––

TenTen smiled, pulling a protein shake from the fridge and checking the contents before she opened it, taking a big drink. Shino was lounging on the couch, still in that infernal trench coat and sunglasses. She walked over, sitting on the seat cushion, right next to his chest. She smiled, motioning toward him with her chin.

"I see you finally found time to go buy groceries… So when did you discover the roaches had claimed the pizza as their own?"

He turned to the side a little, giving her some more room. "…Shortly before that whole dinner with you and Chouji and Shikamaru…" He looked over at her. "I'm sorry there's nothing you'd like to eat in there. I like vegetables as much as the next person, but I've been buying a lot of meat lately."

She looked at him, swishing the contents of the drink around in her mouth a little, deep in thought. After a while, she smiled, looking at him. "You suddenly get a craving for meat? Or is there more to it than that? Maybe it's because of something Shikamaru said?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I keep thinking I'll invite………" He trailed off, unable to finish that sentence. He wanted to say Kiba, but the words wouldn't leave his mouth. He shrugged his shoulders casually, trying to play it off. "…The roaches like meat the most." He didn't want to admit that they actually preferred cheeses and wafers.

TenTen frowned. "You know, about Kiba… You're his best friend, and yet you're not spending time with him at all since we've been going out. Friendship isn't something you can just put on hold… You have to work at it…"

He frowned a little bit, shaking his head and sitting up finally. He rubbed his head a little, groaning. "I know. I think Chouji and Shikamaru are planning something for his birthday, but I never really planned on doing anything special for him…"

"He's jealous, you know."

He turned to look at her, eyes a little wider. "Wh-What? What are you talking about?"

She smiled, shrugging her shoulders a little. "He's jealous that I'm spending so much time with you. He keeps glaring at me every time I go into your office, peering over his cubicle at me like I'm not going to notice him or something. It's as if he's watching me, willing something to fall on my head or boring lasers into my head." She laughed. "He's just like a child, Shino. If you spend too much time with me, he's going to think I'm becoming your new best friend…"

Shino shrugged. "But…that's not true. My relationship with you is different than the one with Kiba…"

TenTen smiled, leaning over and planting a kiss on his cheek. "Does it matter? He still misses you. I think you should call him tomorrow and talk to him." She giggled, standing and going toward the bedroom door. "Maybe even schedule a play date for him…" She wandered into the room, and he heard her starting to rummage in his closet.

He stood, going in there and watching her. He sighed, shaking his head a little and trying to hide a smile on his face. "What are you looking for?"

"The porn."

His face went red. "Wh-What? I don't…I don't like porn. I don't _buy_ porn. Not since I looked at it in middle school and threw up shortly afterwards. It just…doesn't really have the same effect on me after I had that stomach flu…"

TenTen looked up, her face red. She stammered, rubbing at the legs of her jeans anxiously. "O-Oh?"

"Yes."

"Oh." She went red, looking at the floor for the longest time, biting at her bottom lip, her face growing warmer with each second that passed.

He propped himself against the wall, staring at her. "…Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes! I just…um…" She went over, sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes for about a minute and a half. Or, at least, what felt like it. She looked over at him, stuttering again. "Sh-Shino… You've…You've _been_ with Ino and Karin, right? So…you've _been_ with a woman…"

He quirked a brow, going over and sitting next to her. "Yes. I've _been_ with them. And I've _been_ with you for about a week now." He gave her an odd look. "What is with this emphasis on the word _been_? I know I'm a bit clueless when it comes to these things, but–"

"I want to sleep with you!"

He went red, looking at her. "W-Wait, _why_?"

"They…They did, too, didn't they? And you slept with them…so…so…" She trailed off, looking at the ground again and rubbing the legs of her jeans anxiously. "I just… Well, _don't_ you want to add me to that list?"

He snorted. "List? I don't keep a _list_ of the girls I've slept with, TenTen. I only slept with Ino because we weren't really connecting or anything, and then Karin jumped me after the first three days, so it's not really…like that…you know? I mean…do you _really_ want to sleep with me?" When she nodded her head, he sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Alright… Just…how do you want to start this off?"

TenTen looked at him, her face falling. "You mean… Wait,_ I_ mean…you don't… Well, how would _you_ start it off? I mean…you're the one that's done this before, Shino! I'm just…" Her face darkened and she put her face in her hands. "Inexperienced."

He went for her hands, pulling them away from her face and setting them by her side. He put a finger to his chin, appraising her. He leaned over, whispering in her ear.

"Did you know that bugs determine their mates by how bilaterally symmetrical the other is…? Beetles look for mates that have symmetrical antennae…" Then, he kissed the space between her eye and eyebrow. "Your face is extremely symmetrical…" She reached her hands up, fingers trembling as they made their way to his coat. She pulled it off his shoulders, scooting toward him. As she did, his hand went down to her waist and he captured her lips in a kiss, and both of them went falling onto the bed.

She squeaked in surprise, and he instantly stopped, looking her over. "What? What did I do?"

She coughed, laughing a little. "You're…" She took a breath. "…heavy." He stared at her for a while before she narrowed her eyes, pulling the sunglasses off his face. "You shouldn't wear your sunglasses inside… It makes your eyes unaccustomed to the light when you go outside."

His face remained unchanged. "That's why I wear them outside, too…" He grabbed them from her, letting go and sitting up to put them on the side table. He set them there, noticed they weren't set in line with the phone and the lamp, and then straightened them out a little. He looked it over, adjusted it just a little bit more, nodding his head in satisfaction. "Okay. There. That's good."

TenTen chuckled. "You're too much of a neat freak, Shino…"

That's when he noticed his coat lying on the bed, underneath him. He stood, picking it up. "I'm going to go hang this up."

She frowned, grabbing his arm and pulling him back down. "You can do that afterwards. You're stalling!"

He fell down on top of her again, his face going red. "I'm not…stalling. I just…I _need_ to go hang it up. It's an obsession. Let me hang this up, and I promise I'll come right back, alright?"

She sighed, nodding her head and letting him stand. As he walked into the other room, she scooted over to the pillows, taking her hair down and running her hand through it to get the kinks out. She rubbed her face a little, shaking her head some and putting her hands over her eyes. "It's not that bad, TenTen. He's…not Lee, but he's even better, and you should trust him. Trust him, trust him, trust him…" She sighed a little, finding her center. When she removed her hands and looked up, he was right beside her again. A scream caught in her throat, and she put her hands over her mouth, face growing a deeper shade of red.

He pursed his lips together a little, looking her over. "Well…I trust _you_."

She pouted. "Are you angry? I'm…sorry… I just…"

He leaned over, whispering. "No, I'm not angry. It's just…very different from any of the other women I've been with…" He kissed her, his hands grabbing for her shirt and reaching a hand up, fingers ghosting over her skin.

She slapped it away, and both of them froze, him staring at her and her staring at her hand. She stuttered. "Oh…s-sorry… It's…It's a reflex… I…I really _do_ want this, Shino. I mean, I _do_…" She reached back up to his hair, shoving their lips together and hoping he'd continue.

He did, and he managed to take her shirt off, just as she was unbuttoning his shirt. She struggled with one of the buttons, and he smacked her hand away, doing it for her. She smacked him pack, continuing with the buttons and planting a kiss on his neck, going down. He reached behind her aimlessly, as if he were just going through the motions, and she felt his hesitance.

"Wait."

He stopped, pulling back and looking at her. "What?"

She curled up, arms over her chest, turning over and staring at the wall. "You don't want to do this. I can tell…"

He frowned a little, backing over toward the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. "…I'm sorry."

She breathed, rolling over and looking at the ceiling. "That's okay… I…I don't think it's right, either way. Something just feels wrong about you…" She sat up, reaching for her shirt. "…It's not that…I don't want you or anything, Shino…but…you just… You're…not in it. You just…" She bit her lip. "It feels wrong."

He nodded, rubbing his head. "Yeah. I understand…" He stood, going to the kitchen and grabbing a protein shake. He came back in and sat back down on the bed, taking a drink.

"It's just…I…I saw how you and Ino act…and how you and Karin act, and your relationships were completely ruined after you had sex, so… Well, I just… I want our relationship to be the way it is, Shino. I…I just…need _someone_ right now, and…I like you a _lot_. I don't want us to fall apart or anything…" She reached over, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know you're a great guy. I don't want things to change between us. And if we sleep together, they will… I _know_ they will."

He looked over at her, nodding a little. "You're right. Things would change. I agree…" His eyes fell back to the ground and he took a drink, staring off into space, thinking. Finally, after a long, long time, he looked over, capturing her in a kiss.

"I love you."

She didn't protest; she put her head on her shoulder, a smile making its way to her face. "I love you, too, Shino."

He stared at the floor, a sick feeling rising in his stomach, like something was going to happen, like somewhere along the line, something terrible would happen and shatter this moment to pieces. The words rang in his ears, but he felt hollow. Those _words_ felt hollow.

He took another drink, swallowing a big gulp in a feeble attempt to fill the emptiness of those three little words. He looked back at her, spying the smile on her face and the flush in her cheeks. He took another drink, swallowing that sick feeling again.

It wasn't right. It was just…empty.

He swallowed a lump in his throat, looking back over at her. "This is wrong. I don't…I don't think this can continue." Her eyes widened, and she stood up, her breathing increased. He shook his head, knowing she'd assume it was because she wouldn't sleep with him, but he'd have to live with that. There was nothing about her he could connect to. Nothing at _all_. She was a great person, a fantastic woman with so much devotion to her job and helping other women in the work field, but that was just it. There was something about it that didn't add up, didn't feel right. There was no connection, just empty lies and hollow time spent together. He could see himself as being her friend, but nothing more than that.

"_We_ can't continue."


	14. This Is the Worst Birthday Ever!

_That last chapter was almost 11,000 minus the A/N. What the hell?? O.O Is this really how long my chapters have gotten? This sucks, because the chapter after this one is probably going to be really, really short and people will get pissed off._

_Anyway, this is where the story takes a major one-eighty from bitch-funny to bastard-depressing. Hope you all brought your tissues. (Not like you'll actually use them, though.) Okay, let's change that. Hope you all brought your _e-tissues_. You know, the ones reserved for internet tears that you felt inside but may or may not have actually shed in real life? Those. _Whip 'em out._ Get them ready for the coming chapters._

_I mention Sasuke's Sharingan in this. It's all cool because his brother's is more realistic, and Sasuke's is more…one of those chance sort of things. Hope you all like it. :D_

_Oh, and I was having a bitch of a time getting started on this, but a lovely review brought me out of that funk. That is, after I waited, like, four days to actually respond to it. Gah. I'm so lazy_…_ Always procrastinating, too_…_ -twisty frown- And I'm not satisfied with how this chapter turned out, because I had finished it and then realized I'd wanted Shino to go into how TenTen actually reacted when he broke up with her and I had to add that in afterward, shoving it between his little comment and Kiba's drunken "You're GAY then" comment. Ugh. Oh? And no, I didn't pick on Neji. (Actually, that's probably a bit of a lie. Whoops.) Neji's a bit out of character even before he gets drunk. Ignore that. Or not, and tell me he is. Whatever works better for you. But just know, if it hadn't been for me rereading that review for the fourth time so I could respond to it, I never would havee brought myself back into the mood to write this chapter.  
_

_(I actually had a rant on vampire movies and werewolf movies all planned out for this chapter before I cut that out and decided to not bore all of you with an off-topic A/N again. Just know: Vampire comedies are totally better than the more serious books. Like how Twilight's already getting bags and calendars made and they just finished the casting, I think? (I will admit that while Bella looks like I pictured her in the book, everyone else looks OLD. And no. It's not the skin. Edward looks like he's about to hit thirty. Ew. Totally NOT what I imagine a seventeen-year-old-looking person to look like.) Gah. And now it's suddenly a big deal about vampire novels. I can't even walk through Borders without seeing them. Wouldn't it be a whole lot more reasonable to do all of this shit around Halloween? I'm sure people who normally aren't even interested in vampire novels would buy one if it was set out on Halloween. Whatever. Corporate shit has always made me feel uncomfortable. I pity the writing community these days. It's gotten way too commercialized for its own good.)_

_Before I start the next chapter, I'd like to mention that this story was given a shout-out in _earthbender068_'s "_Home Again_", and after I started reading it (I'm on chapter eight, now.) I realized it needed one, too. Don't worry about the amount of chapters it has. You'll get over that when you start reading. It all just flies right on by. O: Very great Sakura piece. Not to mention it's a high school fic. Usually I don't much like them (I know. I'm writing one, too, but whatever.), but this one actually still has the whole ninja thing intact. But yeah. I was not much of a fan of Kiba being paired up with anyone outside of his team_–_though I do prefer Hinata with either Chouji or Shino rather than Kiba; HinaKiba makes me retch, as canonly apparent it may seem in the show_–_(or the idea of him drooling over a bunch of girls and never really finding just one keeper), until I read this and fell in love with his puppy-protectiveness. I really like the idea of a sudden pack of wild boys protecting Sakura ruthlessly from the likes of Zaku. Oh, mans. It's great. Go read it. Like. Now. You won't regret it.  
_

_Shit. This A/N wound up being longer than I would have liked. Guess I can't just keep these things short. :( -cough- No, Chapter 3 does NOT ring a bell. What are _you _talking about?_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 14_

Kiba reached over to the coffee table, picking up the phone and dialing the number, gulping. It rang three times, and he turned his eyes to Chouji and Shikamaru. They both nodded their heads, and he gulped again.

"Hello, this is Shino Aburame speaking."

"Shino, buddy… Uh… Well…I wanted to ask you if…"

"Kiba? I'm kind of busy right now. I'm driving TenTen home."

He paled, his throat drying up. "…Oh. Right. You were with TenTen tonight… Uh…well…" He went red, looking back at the two friends. Shikamaru tossed him a lopsided grin, the one he reserved when he was feeling like having some fun, and Kiba looked away quickly.

"Allofusguysaregoingtoastripclubformybirthday.Doyouwanttojoinus?"

There was a long, long pause on the other line before it cut off. He went rigid, hanging up the phone and looking at Shikamaru and Chouji. He sighed. "Shino hung up. He doesn't want to come."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "No. He went under a bridge or something. There's no _way_ he understood you when you asked that. Not even _I_ could."

Kiba nodded, voice shaky. "Okay…but…d-does it have to be a strip club? I think I'd rather _die_ than see naked women everywhere…"

Shikamaru lifted his finger. "_Half_-naked women, Kiba. And yes. We have to. This is a test to see if Shino really likes women or not. I guarantee you if he doesn't even get remotely turned on by the women there, he's a raging gay. The place is great. It's got a girl for each type of guy! No straight guy can go there and find a woman he's not attracted to! If Shino can't find one, he'll _never_ find attraction to a _woman_!"

The phone started to ring and he picked up the phone, staring at the Caller I.D. "It's Shino…"

Shikamaru grabbed it from him, pushing the button for 'Talk'. "Oi. Shino!"

Shino stuttered on the other line. "Sh-Shikamaru? What are you doing over at Kiba's house?"

"I'm over at his house…alone. His sister's out at some sleazy motel somewhere near the suburbs so me and Kiba could have some _quality_ time."

Both beside him and over the phone he heard a loud shout from both brunettes, "WHAT!?"

Shikamaru nodded boredly. "Yeah. I'm just about to screw him. You should come and watch. You didn't know I was gay? I liked TenTen because I thought she was a man. Yeah. I'm totally into Kiba and he's _totally_ into me."

"You fucking _liar_! Just tell me about this birthday thing Kiba was trying to tell me about!"

Shikamaru pinched Kiba in the arm and he responded with a yelp and a whine. Over the phone, Shino's voice went rigid. "What the hell was that?? Was that _Kiba_? What the fuck are you doing to him, you pervert!?"

Shikamaru smiled, pinching Kiba again and again and again, each time earning a yelp and a whine. Kiba hissed. "Will you quit it, Shikamaru!?" He grabbed the phone away from the lazy genius, swearing loudly.

"Shino, buddy! Sorry about that. Shikamaru's just being a douche bag and trying to mess with your head or something. Listen, the guys were wanting to take me to a strip club for my birthday. Are you in?"

"What the hell, Kiba!? You sicko! I don't want to see that!"

"Wh-Why wouldn't you want to see half-naked women??"

"Oh. Yeah. I'd want to see that. I thought you said the _gays_ want to take you to a strip club. You meant _guys_. As in Shikamaru and Chouji, right? Count me in."

Kiba's eyes widened, and he looked over at the two friends…who were wheezing and falling all over each other on the couch. He glared at them, smiling. "Shikamaru and Chouji. Yeah. The _gays_, alright." He nodded his head. "So…Shikamaru will give you the details Monday. Neji might be joining us, and if we're really lucky we can convince Sasuke to join in."

Shino gave him a skeptical groan. "I doubt Sasuke would, but alright. I'll get the details from Shikamaru on Monday."

Kiba turned around, his voice quieting. "Also……why are you taking TenTen _home_? Do you mean _her_ home?"

"Yeah, hers. I'll tell you about it all later. See you." He hung up, and Kiba stared at the phone, anger rising. He pouted, slumping back into the couch. He didn't want to hear about Shino's sexual adventure with TenTen any time soon…but if Shino'd said he'd tell him about it later, he meant it…

–––––––––––––––––––

Monday came around, and Shikamaru approached his desk, yawning a little and taking out his desk chair, shoving it over right behind Shino's. Shino turned, glaring at the genius. "What…are you doing? Are you going to give me the details to this whole thing or what?"

Shikamaru's grin went lopsided, and he patted the taller man on the shoulder. "All in good time." He leaned in, whispering in his ear. "I just want to know why you got so upset when I was teasing Kiba."

Shino's face turned red and he twisted around, accidentally knocking the man in the jaw. "I was worried! TenTen was all moody and I had to take her home, and then I heard you teasing Kiba! There's only so much I can do at a time, you piece of shit." He turned back around to his desk, positively steaming.

Shikamaru rubbed his jaw, looking at him reluctantly, looking him over for signs of another outburst. When he felt the taller man was safe again, he folded his arms over his chest. "Here are the details: I'm going to pick you all up from work and from there we'll all go directly to the club. Is that satisfactory?"

"Who all is going?"

"Kiba, of course. And then you, me and Chouji, and then Neji. Sasuke might be joining us if he doesn't wind up having another late night at work again. He's been playing the stock market again…"

Shino gave him a long look before his brow quirked. "Neji? _Really_? _Neji_ is going to be there? He's the one that got me into that trouble with TenTen in the first place…"

Shikamaru growled, eyes narrowing, his arms going for the chair to blend back into his cubicle, as if he'd never been there. "I believe _you're_ the one that had to ask TenTen when you'd see her pussy… I'm still surprised she wound up dating you after you said that…" Instead of going back to his cubicle, he set the chair back there and headed off to the break room, grumbling. "You took her home and got to see her naked… Why can't I get that honor? Iiigh…you sack of crap, Shino…"

Shino ignored it, preferring to pretend him and Shikamaru were still on good terms, despite the fact that the man totally hated him because of his interest in TenTen. Kiba wandered into the office, looking like he was either about to be drained of a soul or his soul had _just_ been drained.

Shino stood, smiling at him. "Hey, Kiba. Happy Birthday."

Kiba nodded his head at him, going immediately to work. Shino snickered, figuring it had something to do with the fact that he'd be going to a strip club later that day. He stopped what he was doing and walked over, leaning on the entrance to the shorter man's cubicle–on the wall–and staring at him. Kiba was clicking his mouse around the screen aimlessly.

"You know, you have to turn your computer _on_ if you want to get any work done…"

Kiba turned, mumbling a quick, "Oh hey, Shino, buddy," before he went back to the computer, mumbling something about "bare-naked ladies". Shino sighed, tapping him on the shoulder. Kiba finally turned, his face paling.

"What?"

Shino held his hand out again. "I said… Happy Birthday, Kiba. You should look happier. You're turning thirty." After a long, long moment, he leaned over, his face directly over Kiba's as he went for the tower, turning the computer on. "It's about the strip club idea Shikamaru and Chouji have, isn't it? If you want, we can ditch them in the parking garage and make a break for a bus back to my place. We can celebrate your birthday with just a few cans of beers and old movies. How does that sound?"

Kiba looked at him, his face lighting up like it was the best idea he'd ever heard, but then Chouji walked by, clearing his throat a little, and the dog-lover's face fell. "N-No. It sounds awful." He perked up, forcing himself to look excited. "I get to see t-t-titties tonight! It's going to be _way_ better than watching old movies with my best buddy!!"

Shino gave him a skeptical look, wandering back over to his cubicle and sitting down at his desk to stare at his computer screen, where he had a long e-mail reserved for TenTen. He'd tried calling her every day during the weekend and she refused to pick up. If he even stepped foot in the woman's division office Haku would tear him a new asshole, so his only plan of action was sending an e-mail to her advice column. If he was lucky, she wouldn't take it personally and print it in the issue, dishing out a piece of her own mind as the response. But still…something creeped up his spine, and he felt like he had to go see if she had quit–if she'd ran away again.

He got up, nearly dashing to the elevator. He reached the floor below and stormed into the office, past Haku's empty desk, past all of the women shooting him glares and one man looking like he wanted to kill him, right into TenTen's office.

She was typing up something, Haku sitting in the chair in front of her. Both turned and looked at him as he entered, and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks. "…I need to speak to TenTen alone, please…"

Haku stood, smiling pleasantly at him. She smiled, placing a hand on his arm lovingly. "Take as much time as you need, Shino…" He felt a prick as the trans left, and he looked down to see a sewing needle imbedded in his arm. He winced, pulling it out and desperately trying to stop the bleeding–Haku was good; the bitch had hit a vein. He looked up at TenTen, pushing on the puncture wound and hoping it would stop eventually.

TenTen looked up at him, her eyes a bit red. He went and sat down in the chair, and TenTen spoke, her voice cold. "You're going to need an appointment. I'm very busy, Mr. Aburame…"

He stuttered. "I thought…"

She narrowed her eyes at him, rolling her chair out a little so they could see each other better. Her voice was shaky, like she was trying to be strong. "You…You thought…what? That you were sorry you gave up so easily because I wouldn't _sleep with you_? Is _that_ it?"

"I thought I needed to explain myself."

She smiled, her eyes widening, an almost mad look to them. "What's to explain? We aren't right for each other. I could really care less. Sure it hurts a little–" She placed a hand to her heart, a breath shuddering from her mouth. "–b-but it's nothing I haven't felt before…"

He gave a sigh of relief. "Good. I…thought you'd quit again."

She stood, suddenly enraged. "I'll be _damned_ if I'm going to let a stupid relationship keep me from coming into work in the morning, you shithead! Get out of my office before I lose my cool and kick you so hard your children come out bruised!"

He stood, eyes wide, taking a step back. "I just… I was just…worried… Are you sure you're fine with everything?"

Her face fell, and she went back to her desk, back to her computer. Her voice was shaky again. "No. ……But that's no concern of yours…"

He bit his lip and left, feeling guilty all the way back to his cubicle. The second he reached his desk, he put his head in his hands, deleting the draft of his apologetic e-mail. After a short while, he retreated to the men's room and proceeded to vent his frustration on his hair. He'd hoped they'd remain friends, so why the hell was she taking this so hard!? She was more upset than she should've been! They'd only been dating for a _week_, a **week**!! He sighed, wiping at his face and looking at himself in the mirror.

He didn't think he'd ever understand women. Was there _any_one he'd find at least _some_ sort of rightness with? Everyone was just… He slammed his fist into the mirror, shattering it.

Of course not. His only hope had been that damn ad, and look what came out of _that_: a man that had a weird relationship with a dog the size of a small taxi!

Kiba walked in, mumbling something about Akamaru being out of food back at home as he unzipped his fly. He didn't even notice Shino watching him as he took a leak. Shino groaned, stepping out of the bathroom, unnoticed, muttering something about newspaper ads being the worst means of finding a date.

The second Kiba was done, he went to the mirror and turned the knob for some cold water to wash his hands with and splash his face with, completely missing all of the glass shards in the sink. He looked up to make sure he didn't look a wreck and recoiled. "How the hell do you break a _mirror_!?" He fell backwards into one of the stall doors, completely knocking it off its hinges.

––––––––––––––––––––––

Shikamaru was glaring at the road in front of him, trying his hardest to ignore all of the noise in the back. His car was small–he had no idea why he felt the need to invite Neji and Sasuke. Perhaps he wanted to see what they were like outside of the office? Perhaps he wanted to see if they were gay, too? He had no idea. All he knew was that Chouji was in the seat next to him, Kiba and Shino were in the back with Neji, and Sasuke was _somewhere_. He didn't know where, because Chouji had joked about putting him in the trunk and that was the end of that, but Sasuke had _also_ said he'd just follow them in his car. He had no idea.

All he knew was that Kiba was arguing with Chouji over something silly, and Neji was leaning over Shino to bark something at them every once in a while. Kiba would bark back, and Chouji would say something else.

Neji reached his hand over, his hand reaching for Kiba's ear to show him he meant business when he told him to stop saying how he really had no idea who the Hyuugas were, and Shino's arm instantly clamped down on it, freezing all three men in their conversation.

Neji looked over at Shino with wide eyes, surprised he'd done anything, and Chouji's eyes widened, a smile forming on his face. Kiba glanced at Shino, tapping his shoulder a little. "Sh-Shino…it's no big deal. Hana pulled my ears all the time when I was a kid."

Shino slowly released Neji's arm, not really knowing what came over him. It was just like that time with Suigetsu. His voice stuttered. "H-Hands to yourself."

Neji's eyebrow rose and he cocked a grin. "All the more for you, eh?"

Chouji laughed a little. "Actually, I think he meant that in the degrading sense… As in, who here wants to play the quiet game?"

Shikamaru stopped at a red light, glancing back at them, thanking whoever was up there that Chouji actually took up that day-care job back in high school. The men in the back just looked at him as if he couldn't possibly be serious, until Shino raised his hand slowly. Chouji pointed. "Shino wants to play the quiet game! Who here thinks they can beat Shino!?"

Neji's face reddened, finding it completely ridiculous but absolutely refusing to back down to a challenge. Kiba beat him to it, looking exactly like a twelve-year-old. "Me, me, me! I can _totally_ beat Shino!"

Shino looked over at him, huffing. "No you _can't_."

Chouji pointed at the man in the middle. "Kiba wins!!" That was when Neji started another argument.

"That's completely unfair, Akimichi! I didn't even get a chance to put myself into that game!"

Chouji pointed at him again, smiling, something almost like spite swirling around in those dark eyes of his. "Kiba wins!! You were in the game from the beginning!"

Shikamaru groaned at a horn from behind and he had to slam on the gas to get through the now-yellow light. As the noise in the back got louder than ever, he just wished Chouji hadn't been so terrible at refereeing those sorts of games. Finally, after about twelve more minutes of non-stop childish bickering, he found a spot in the parking lot outside of the strip club. He slammed on the brakes, causing everyone to go lurching forward.

"We're here," he spat through gritted teeth.

Instantly, Neji popped his collar a bit, clearing his throat and opening the door. He stood, making his way to the side Kiba was on, looking nonchalant. Kiba hopped out, his mood a bit more cheered by Chouji's little game. Chouji got out of the car, causing the car to re-balance itself. He walked over to Kiba, nudging Neji away as he threatened to aim for Kiba's neck that time. Shino stepped out of the car, slamming the door behind him and getting in between all of them, grabbing Kiba's arm and dragging him toward the entrance.

"Give the Birthday Boy some room to breathe, guys."

They went to the entrance, and Shikamaru shouted something as a loud crash reverberated through the air. All of them turned to see a black car smashed into the rear bumper of Shikamaru's baby. The aforementioned genius threw his hands in the air. "Shit, Uchiha!! Are you fucking blind!? Look at what you did to my _car_!! Get your information out, right _now_!"

The car backed up into the parking space Sasuke'd been aiming at the entire time. After a few moments, he turned it off and stepped out of his car, organizer in hand. He stepped over to Shikamaru's car, suddenly noticing the damage. "Oh, shit, Shikamaru. What happened to your car?"

"Your fucking _organizer_ happened to my car! Haven't you heard to keep your eyes on the road at all times!? Give me your insurance information! You're paying for it!"

Sasuke glared at him, glancing at his car. "Well, you're paying for the damages on _mine_, then. You can't just come here and tell me I hit _your_ car. What makes you think _you_ didn't accidentally hit it?"

Shikamaru threw his arms in the air. "There was no one inside it! That's why!"

"Maybe you should stop getting out of your car while it's in motion, then."

"Don't play dumb with me! I know you're doing this to piss me off! All of the guys saw you hit my car! I have witnesses, Sasuke. You're giving me your insurance information, and I'm giving you mine, and then I'm getting you to pay for the damages to my car!"

Sasuke looked back at the others, motioning toward the crime scene. "Did any of you witness this accident?"

They all exchanged looks, all of them being too busy talking to each other. When they all started to shake their heads, Sasuke smiled sweetly at the genius. "See? What makes you think I'm the cause of all of this?" He peered at him innocently, and Shikamaru's jaw dropped, unable to believe any of this.

He sat up, rubbing his head. "What the hell…" He looked up to see his car right beside him, right where he left it in the parking garage. He looked up at Chouji, who was waving his hand in front of his face.

"Shikamaru, you okay?"

"What…What about the accident?"

Kiba snorted. "What accident? Man! You were knocked out so cold, you had some crazy dream!"

He slowly stood, seeing Neji and Shino staring at him, Sasuke away from them all, glaring daggers at him. He looked over at Chouji, his memory slowly getting back on track. "What… He… Sasuke…"

Sasuke spat at his feet. "That's for insulting me and my mother, Nara."

Shikamaru rubbed his head, and Kiba patted him on the shoulder. "Sasuke said he'd be ashamed to be seen with us, so he was going to follow behind. You said his _mother_ would be even more ashamed, and he slugged you in the face." He whistled, glancing at Chouji and grinning. "I've seen punches to the face, but none that involve crazy dreams involving car accidents!"

Sasuke nodded his head in his direction. "Yeah, Nara. Next time I'm keying your precious _baby_." He stalked off to his car, and Shikamaru stared at him, eyes narrowing.

After a while, he managed to call out a feeble, "There's something _wrong_ with you! I know you somehow made me have that crazy dream, you asshole! Maybe you managed to hypnotize me or something, but I know _you're_ the cause of it!"

–––––––––––––––––––

Shikamaru was paranoid the entire time there. Not because he was afraid of Sasuke or anything…but because everything that happened in that…that _dream_ was actually happening to him now. He looked back at Shino latched onto Neji's arm, keeping him from grabbing Kiba's ear.

When Chouji finally said, "Who wants to play the quiet game?", Shikamaru turned on the radio. That was the end of the quiet game and this feeling that Sasuke was going to hit his baby intentionally when they arrived at the strip club.

They did arrive, and all of them went in, looking around at all the topless women in thongs and shaking around on their little poles. Shikamaru's demeanor relaxed, and he immediately went to one of the many stages set up.

–––––––––––––––––

Kiba stared at them all, resisting the urge to hurl. When Shikamaru had said one for every type of guy, he hadn't been lying. There was one that looked like she was barely out of high school and _barely_ legal! There was another who was decked out in leather, one wearing tassles on her nipples. He shuddered a little, eyes turning to Shikamaru as he walked over to one dressed as some sort of belly dancer.

After a brief conversation with her, she jumped off the stage and went to a back room. He walked back to them, shrugging his shoulders. "She's supposed to be here around nine…"

Chouji had to pry his eyes off of one with really short hair in a bob before he looked back at his friend, face beet red. "Who? The one you come here for…?"

They all looked at him, and Shikamaru nodded. "That just leaves us to get Kiba drunk." He turned to Kiba, punching his shoulder affectionately. "Happy Birthday. I got you the best gift of all–clarity." The three who were in on the plan all exchanged looks.

Shino just narrowed his eyes. "Clarity? What do you mean by that?"

He was having no problem keeping his eyes off the women, Shikamaru noticed. So he grinned, grabbing Shino's arm. "Come on, Shino. Why don't we get the drinks…"

They both walked off, and Chouji's eyes drifted back toward that bobbed girl with curves in all the right places. He looked down at the floor guiltily, patting Kiba on the shoulder. "Well…I'll…I'll be over here… T-Tell Shikamaru I want a martini. Six of them." He dashed over to that stage, whipping out his wallet.

Kiba shuddered a little, glancing back at the two with him–Neji and Sasuke. Sasuke was too busy with his organizer, and Neji's eyes were closed, his head bobbing in time with the music. Kiba's eyes narrowed, and he drifted over toward the bar.

"Sh-Shikamaru…this doesn't seem very…fun…"

Shikamaru turned, holding out a beer to him. "Wait until we get a little bit of alcohol into everyone. I'll bet your ass even the two stiffs over there will be having the time of their lives. Besides, this place really doesn't pick up until nine."

He glanced over at Chouji stuffing bills into the curvy woman's thong, a smile creeping over his face. "Looks like Chouji doesn't even need any alcohol."

"He wanted six martinis."

Shikamaru nodded. "He would. But that's only to forget he's cheating on his ex-fiancée… Come on. Let's get a table." He motioned for Neji and Sasuke, and Neji dragged Sasuke over toward a table in the very back, near the fire exit. They all sat there, minus Chouji. Neji had gotten up to get some vodka, his preference, and Sasuke had gone up and gotten a quick shot before he returned to the table, his cheeks barely even pink, organizer still in hand.

The conversation was superficial at best, until Shino looked over at Shikamaru, giving him a serious look.

"Who's the woman you come here to see?"

Shikamaru smiled, taking a drink of his club soda, a bit peeved that he would have to be the designated driver…again. "She's actually a school teacher. During the summer she works here to help pay rent. Apparently she's got two younger brothers that are always causing trouble and asking for loans. She says one of them is still in college, since he started real late after a period of time when he just tolerated everyone and everything and went through some strange phase involving too much cocaine that made him wind up in a mental hospital for paranoia and rehab. He's the youngest. The other is some kind of…Broadway person. He does puppet work or something…"

Kiba spit out his drink. "K-K-Kankurou!"

Shikamaru raised a brow at him. "I suppose that's his name… Oddly fitting…" He shrugged, looking back at Shino. "Anyway, we've got some sort of weak friendship between us. Sometimes I let her borrow money from me, and she makes sure to pay me back the next time her paycheck rolls around and she gathers up all the tips… Her name's Temari. Not her stage name; her real name."

Kiba snorted. "She's a stripper during the summer and a school teacher during fall, winter and spring. Nice."

Sasuke finally looked up from his organizer. "I'd like to be _her_ student…"

They all gave him a look, and that's when Neji came back with his third glass of vodka. Shikamaru looked at him worriedly. "Neji…you should probably be careful with the amount you drink. You might wind up passing out…"

Neji tossed his hand at him aggravatedly, downing it in nearly one gulp. He slammed it down on the table, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "Are you kidding, Nara? I know how to hold my liquor."

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Neji could hold his liquor, alright. Just as he could hold a stripper pole and dance around it. He'd climbed up on the stage after things really started to get active–it was past nine and Temari was nowhere to be seen–and started doing his club moves. He went for his tie, throwing it off him and doing a twirl on the pole, leg hooked around it as he gradually went to his knees. The woman he'd shoved over was starting to look more amused than angry now, and Neji hollered at the audience, which consisted of quite a few strangers–as well as the men he'd come in with–who were laughing at his little show. He crawled toward them all, like he's actually been practicing his go-go dancer moves, and ran his hands down the length of his body, finally placing them on the floor and standing back up. He walked back a little, hips swaying in a very feminine way, before he turned around, palming the air in what his friends could only imagine were the same movements he made when raving on the dance floor in some drug-induced madness at one of those clubs closer to the center of the city.

Shikamaru glanced at Chouji, who'd torn himself away from the curvy one when she told him to back off and stop getting so close, and now the two were laughing their asses off. Kiba stared at Neji, his cheeks a nice rosy red, a pleasant buzz spreading over him. Neji started to unbutton his shirt, and Kiba threw a fifty dollar bill up there, throwing his fist in the air.

"Yeah! Go, Neji! Show us that chest!"

That's when the woman shoved the nuisance off the stage. "Alright, punk. You can dance all you want, but the second you start getting cash you gotta go!" She fought over the fifty dollar bill with the very drunk, very clumsy Hyuuga before he tripped and went tumbling off the stage backward, hands empty. A few men were rooting for him, and Shikamaru and Chouji just helped him up, laughing.

Chouji grinned. "I think you've reached your limit, Neji."

"Are you _kidding _me?? I'm just getting started, big guy!"

Chouji shoved him back to the ground, and Neji just got up and started dancing again, dodging each punch Chouji was throwing at him uselessly with ease. He didn't even look like he was aware Chouji was angry, or that he was even attacking him. He finally grabbed the larger man's hands, twirling him around in a circle, a blissful smile on his face. Yeah. He _was_ just getting started…only now he was looking for someone to dance _with_.

The second the stripper started dancing again, Kiba pried himself away, attempting to find some sort of solace from all of this female nudity. The alcohol was getting to him; he felt like he was going to puke. He stumbled over to the door to the men's room, apparaising the rest of the room, eyes on the prowl for the whereabouts of a certain tall man with frizzed hair.

Sasuke was over on a stool near the bar, buried in his organizer as two half-naked women were dancing near his head, bare-asses right next to him. His face was red, and he looked like he was trying his hardest to ignore all of the attention he was getting. Kiba's eyes turned back at Chouji and Neji, who were now doing what appeared to be a very angry dance, angry on Chouji's part and dance on Neji's. Shikamaru was standing on the sidelines, watching and laughing. He searched for the one he _really _wanted to see more than any of them, and that's when he saw it–

Shino was sitting there near the stage with the woman who looked barely legal, watching a woman crawling toward him, chest very nearly exposed. Shino's jaw had dropped, his cheeks were absolutely red, and one hand was over his gaping jaw and the other was lifting the sunglasses off his face like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Kiba just about died. He went to the bar, ordering a shot of whiskey. Downed it. One more. Downed it, before he stumbled off to the bathroom to puke, hardly able to walk.

He stumbled into one of the stalls, slightly more upset over the fact that the music was still blaring in the bathroom just as it was outside more than the fact that Shino had been gawking at a woman and looking very-much turned on at the sight of her. Closing the stall door behind him clumsily, he emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. He hovered over the bowl for a few minutes before he felt like he was good enough to get out of there.

As he stumbled backward, he heard the faucet running.

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Shino splashed some water in his face, hoping to fight the effects of the alcohol–though a much smaller amount than most of his friends–that were making him feel warm all over. He gasped, fighting the urge to retch into the sink.

That woman… That mole… It was about the size of a small continent, like…taking up a third of her neck. And it had _hair_ growing out of it. He couldn't resist the urge any longer and hurled right into the sink, coughing and swearing loudly when his sunglasses fell from his nose into his own vomit.

The stall door behind him slammed open, and someone stumbled backward into him. He whirled around, clocking them in the chest. "Back off! …Wh– Kiba!?"

Kiba fell backward a little, before Shino grabbed his arm and pulled him back. He went falling into the taller man's chest, slurring. "I sssaw you lookin' at that ssstripper, Shhhino… Shhhame on you fer…" He stumbled back a little, wagging his finger at him angrily. "…coming to a playssse like thisss while yer dating TenTen!"

Shino grabbed his arm, slamming him against a wall so the shorter man would find some center of balance to keep him upright. He leaned back against the wall next to him, wiping the vomit off the corner of his mouth. "I broke up with TenTen on the Fourth of July. Like, twenty minutes before you called."

Kiba's eyes widened, and he sobered up immediately, finding himself in this drunken madness, finding something to bring him back down to earth. "Wh-What? You…broke… You _broke _her?"

"I broke _up_ with her, stupid." Shino looked up at the ceiling, putting a hand to his forehead. "I only was with her because I wanted to see if I would figure out why I liked her in the first place. When it came right down to it, it wasn't like we weren't compatible or anything;…we just…didn't click." He looked down, rubbing the back of his head. "It felt _wrong_ when I was with her… Like something was missing…" He chuckled. "Man, I'd never admit to that if I was sober…" He laughed. "The alcohol must be getting to me…"

The dog-lover's voice was quiet. "How did she react?"

Shino shrugged. "Different than all the others… She cried for about twenty minutes before she took a few pills of that whacky shit and went down for the count. I had to take her back to her house… She lives with her parents, so I had to explain to them that I'd broken up with her… I don't think I've ever felt that mentally conflicted over anything before in my life… Just…she was so torn up about it, too. I don't even understand how she grew so attached to me in such a short amount of time. How do you get _that_ attached to someone after a single week? Like, cry-worthy, I-want-to-forget-about-it-all worthy?"

Kiba coughed. "No connection with the girl in high school, no connection with Ino, no connection with Karin, and now no connection with TenTen. Face it, Shino. Maybe you just don't like women enough."

Shino's face went red, and he glared. "I just haven't found the right one, alright? I'll find one who feels right, okay? You can't just…just _assume_ someone's gay just because they have bad luck with women!" He punched Kiba in the arm, furious for absolutely no reason.

"I never said you were gay. You assumed I called you gay." Kiba stared at him for a while before his face collapsed and he laughed. "You shouldn't wear your sunglasses anymore."

"Oh? And why is _that_?"

"Because your eyes look nice. You shouldn't hide them behind those things."

Shino's cheeks went red and he glared, going to the sink and washing his sunglasses off, slamming them onto his face. "You've had too much to drink, Kiba. You're saying things you'll probably regret later."

"I don't want to go home tonight."

The taller man looked back at him, how he was leaning against the wall, barely able to stand, reeking of alcohol, a hand over his face, his cheeks bright red. Soon Shino's face matched his drunken companion's. "Wh-What?"

Kiba wiped at his face, trying to keep it from looking so red. He stared directly at Shino. "I'm going home with you tonight. Hana would kill me."

Shino's face paled a little, and he nodded his head. "Oh. That makes…sense. When do you want to leave?"

Kiba groaned, standing up from the wall and shakily walking toward him. "A little more beer. I don't want to remember ever going to such a nasty place like this. I shouldn't have let Shikamaru talk me into this. I knew it was a bad idea. I knew I wouldn't get anything I was looking for."

Shino stared at him for a moment as he walked back out to the bar. Didn't find what he was looking for? …What had he been looking for in a place like _this_? Maybe Kiba wasn't sure if he was gay anymore or something?

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A blur of sensations, pleasurable and painful all once. Swirling lights and heated gasps, the feeling of flesh against flesh, nails against skin, the taste of alcohol everywhere as he probed in his mouth.

With one final thrust on the taller man's part, Kiba gasped, fisting the sheets.

He shot upward, sweating bullets and gasping for air. His head was pounding, and he felt as if his body would just explode. He didn't even bother to look down, knowing full-well he had a raging hard-on. He went red, taking in his surroundings. He looked around, spotting the familiar window, familiar closet and familiar sheets, the cracks in the ceilings and the door to the room closed. There was the lamp and the phone, all neatly aligned on the table.

He threw the covers off of him, realizing his clothes were still on, all except for the jacket he'd worn to work that morning. He gave a sigh of relief, finding himself in that. He hadn't done anything stupid again. He was just glad he hadn't wound up sleeping with Shino or confessing or anything. Sure he had dreams, but dreams were just dreams.

He stood, walking toward the door. He peeked out, spying Shino nowhere in sight. He stuck his head out further, looking over toward the bathroom and finding the light off. He darted toward it, anxious. The entire night was a blur. All he really remembered was Shino saying he'd broken up with TenTen.

–––––––––––––––––––

Shino was sitting in the kitchen, staring at the table, his mind completely blank and filled to the brim all at once. His eyes were weary, his head was pounding, and he was utterly confused. There was a loud gasp in the bedroom, and his cheeks darkened. He'd been hearing those sounds since six in the morning. He closed his eyes, biting his lip and hoping the next sound wouldn't come–the one that set his nerves on edge and made his heart skip a beat.

There was a much longer delay, before the sound of his door opening made its way to his ears. So…Kiba had finally woken up from what had to have been _the_ longest wet dream he'd ever been forced to listen to. Scratch that–_first_ wet dream he'd ever been forced to listen to.

He glanced over toward the living room, and the bathroom door slammed shut. He snorted, picking up his protein shake and walking back into his bedroom, propping himself by the window. He stared out of it, his mind going blank and running a mile a minute all at once.

Ten minutes later, Kiba came out of the bathroom, whining a little. "Ah, shit. This is the worst birthday ever…" His footsteps disappeared into the kitchen. "Where the hell is Shino?" His footsteps came back, and suddenly they were at the door.

"Sh-Shino, buddy!" His voice sounded extremely fake in its happiness. "W-Were you in here the whole time?"

Shino said nothing, just stared at the window, refusing to look at the shorter man at the door. After a while, he took a drink of the protein shake, shaking his head. "Slept on the couch."

Kiba nodded, rubbing the back of his head. "Oh. Good. Get a lot of sleep last night? Or did you just stay up all night again?"

"It looks like its going to rain. If you want to get home in time to change for work, I suggest now would be the time to do it. We're already two hours late."

"Oh, really?" Kiba went to the window, making Shino even more uncomfortable. The shorter man stared out at the grey clouds threatening to break and release their shower. There was a flash in the background, followed by a rumble about four seconds later. "You're right. I should probably get home. Hana's probably worried sick." He made a motion to pat Shino on the shoulder, but halted immediately before touching him. He patted the air a little, making a nervous sound with his tongue and teeth before he picked his suit jacket that was, strangely, lying on the ground by the bed, and walked to the front door.

"See you, buddy."

The door slammed shut, and Shino pressed his face against the glass with a sigh of relief, closing his eyes. With Kiba gone, he could go over everything in his head clearly. He didn't know why, but it was if he felt like if he's started thinking it, Kiba would hear it and know _everything_. It had felt so right. Nothing had ever made more sense to him than that kiss. As much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed it way more than Ino or Karin or that chick from high school, those girls along the way in college, TenTen. He stayed like that for a few minutes–"It felt…right."–before he slammed the can into the floor, spilling the contents everywhere. He looked up at the ceiling.

"One of you better come out here and tell me I'm not going crazy!!"

When none of the roaches left the ceiling, he stood in a flurry, leaning over the bed and knocking the phone and the lamp off the bedside table, shattering the bulb in the process. He slammed his fist into the wall a few times, falling to the ground and curling his hands over his face. Tears squeezed their way out of his eyes, and he wiped them away uselessly. Had this been the first time he'd ever cried? He couldn't even remember anymore.

All that ran through his head was that _stupid_ mantra over and over and over again.

It felt _right_. It felt _right_. It felt so _fucking _right he felt like he was tearing apart inside.

He curled up, knees coming to his chest, head resting between them, arms curled up tight against his chest, fisted tightly. He groaned, suppressing the urge to go ballistic and destroy everything in the living room.

It had felt so _right_.

_He grumbled, holding Kiba by the waist with one arm and getting into the house with the other. He finally managed to get the door open, grumbling to himself over how he wished Kiba hadn't wanted to get that drunk or even spend the night at his place. He dragged the shorter man in there as best as he could, closing the door behind him with his foot. _

_He dragged him into the bedroom, getting ready to drop him in the bed and go off to go take a piss he desperately needed after all that beer had run straight through him. Kiba had been silent for a while, but in the taxi he'd been running a mile a minute. There was another burst of energy on the dog-lover's part, and soon Shino found him shoved against the shorter man, boxing him into a wall. His shades went tumbling to the ground in the process._

_He glared. "Kiba. What the h–"_

_Before Shino could even finish, Kiba pulled the taller man against him, crushing their lips together in the process. In the weirdest display of attraction, Shino melted into it, seizing Kiba in his arms and pulling out of the kiss for a brief moment before he went back eagerly, tongue searching desperately for some sort of taste that was solely Kiba. One arm had grabbed him around the waist, and he lifted a hand to Kiba's cheek, pulling back. _

_He took a deep breath, noting that Kiba's eyes were open. He stared into them for a while, hands reaching for the buttons of his jacket. He ripped the jacket off the shorter man, practically throwing both of them onto the bed as he bent down to kiss Kiba's neck, going lower until the collar of his shirt was in the way._

_In that instant, he suddenly found himself and froze, staring at his best friend. Kiba's arms tightened around him, fingers pulling at his back a little. Both were breathing heavily, and Kiba moved a hand away from his back to reach up for his face, a soft sigh escaping his lips. Shino shot backward, slamming the door behind him as he backed out of the room and clamping a hand over his mouth._

_What the fuck was that, and why had he felt like everything made sense in that single moment?_

_He was practically paralyzed the rest of the night, staring off into space, shell-shocked._

–––––––––––––––––––

Kiba stared at the concrete of the sidewalk as he walked home. Gradually, more and more little speckles of dark were appearing on the ground, and soon he could feel them splatter against his head. He started walking a bit faster when a rumble of lightning echoed in the distance.

His steps quickened, the stench of rain filling his nostrils and becoming almost intoxicating now. He'd smelled it thick in the air before, but now it was so strong, he felt like he was breathing in more water particles in the air than oxygen. His head was pounding, just as the very sky was pounding. He looked up to see the rain begin to fall heavily. His pace quickened.

By the time he'd gotten to the complex his sister lived in, he was soaking wet and the lighting was loud and booming. He shook his hair off in the elevator, trying his best to keep the shirt from sticking to his skin. There was a soft flicker of the lights as another boom crackled around him, and he was _so_ glad to be out of that wind. What the hell was going on? A fucking _hurricane_?? The elevator groaned to a stop for only a brief moment in time with the lights before it started back up again.

He reached the floor, walking in and into his sister's suite. He sighed, knowing Hana wouldn't be there to ask questions. The lights went out when another crash rippled through the walls, pounding it into even the floor and causing the plasma television to vibrate loudly, and he looked up. They turned on a few seconds later, and he sighed. Rain pelted the windows to his left, on the roof above him. Akamaru walked out of the kitchen, whining. He went over, patting him on the head.

"Sorry I didn't come ho–"

He froze at the sight of Hana sitting at the kitchen table, the phone out in front of her as if it had tumbled from her hand an hour ago and she'd forgotten to pick it up. Something creeped up his spine and he walked into the kitchen, around the table so he could see her face. She was deathly pale, her hand over her mouth, tears running down her cheeks.

He went cold. "H-Hana…"

She shook her head, lightning crashed in the background.

His fingers started to twitch, his throat closing off. "H-Hana, why are you still here? Is… What happened?" The bottom collapsed out from under him when she finally turned her eyes to him and he noticed just how much she was trembling.

She stood, going to him shakily and putting a hand on his shoulder. "K-Kiba…"

His voice rose, pushing her away from him. Something was very, very _wrong_. "Wh-What!? What the hell is wrong!? Hana, you're scaring the shit out of me!!" He went pale, suddenly feeling more terrified than he'd ever felt in his life. The storm outside peaked, rain hitting the roof like bullets, thunder crashing, lightning sparking purples and blues. Why did everything feel _wrong _this morning? There was a crack behind them, one that sounded as if it were threatening to shatter the windows.

The lights flickered off, but this time they didn't come back on.

"…It's Mom. She's…She's dead."


	15. The Funeral pt1

_Wow. What a downer. After such a great day that he hated with a passion, yet another thing knocks Kiba to the ground with a punch to the chest. Wonder how Shino will take the news…_

_Not much else to say here. By the way, the next couple of chapters will be titled after "The Funeral", by Band of Horses. _

_The lyrics don't really fit Shino as much. (Because the song sorta notes hatred rather than affection.) Maybe the mood of the song, but most of the lyrics are all Hana. She takes a big stance in the following chapters. She's quickly becoming one of my favorite minor characters to write about. Just her dedication and loyalty for her brother. Pack mentality. You gotta love it._

_I must say, though…when I wrote the part about Neji wanting to pinch Kiba's ears in the last chapter, I couldn't help but remember what my parents used to do when they thought I was being too loud. (They'd pinch my ears and tell me to be quiet.) And that part with the quiet game? Chouji's so mean to Neji. Still holding a grudge against him for calling you "big guy", big guy? That's not like you, Chou. Maybe you're just bitter to the family because of Hinata…?_

_Onto _this_ chapter. I really like how Sakura and Shino interact. They'd make great friends, wouldn't they? The silent wonder and the girl with an inner voice screaming most of the time… Almost makes me want to show what my view of Inner Shino is… Maybe I should write a fanfic about it. Yeah. I think I will. _

_Speaking of another fanfic, I just reached Chapter 26 of the one I recommended to you all in the last chapter. D: It's so great. It just keeps getting better and better. They (the characters) all kick _so_ much ass. And it's SO funny. 'Leaf ninjas do it in the bush'? Oh my God, I just about _died_! Geez, reminds me of all those really suggestive Abercrombie T-Shirts that say stuff on them like, "Proud Member of the Head Council" and stuff like that._

_Anyway. Enjoy the fic. (And seriously. Go read that one if you haven't already!)_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 15_

She flipped through her purse, pulling out the plane tickets. "Kiba…" She looked over at her brother, who was just sitting on the couch with his bags in his lap. Akamaru kept bumping into his arm, trying to get him to do something, _anything_. With another whine and another fruitless head-butt, the dog finally gave up, retreating sadly to his room.

"Kiba!"

He looked over at her, sighing loudly. "What." His voice was flat, like he had just stopped caring entirely.

"I made sure to get that paperwork for work drawn up. Um…" She bit her lip, walking over and grabbing her bags. "I'm sorry we aren't able to take Akamaru with us."

The man by the window appraised the situation. It was such a delicate one. Once he'd had an acquaintance here in the same predicament. The acquaintance wound up staying longer than his vacation days would allow, and when he went back to the office, he found he'd been fired and replaced by someone who was supposed to be his temp. That's how Neji got his job. Hana, being a prosecutor and well aware of legal procedures, obviously knew she had to prevent that from happening to her brother.

Kiba just shrugged. "Hmmm." He looked over toward the window blankly, watching the clouds in the sky. Shino was standing by the window, staring at him, watching him, but he couldn't even bring himself to look away and blush.

Hana's heels clicked on the tile as she walked toward Shino. "Shino, I'm so sorry I haven't been able to meet you properly and have a formal conversation with you. It's just so surreal right now… Thank you _so_ much for house-sitting Akamaru for us. It really…um…" She looked back at Kiba, her breathing quickening at the sight of him, bags in hand, ready to get the funeral out of the way. She forced a smile, returning to Shino's face. "It really means a lot to _us_." He could tell that when she used that word, she was doing more to convince herself rather than him. "You'll be switching off with Juugo, so it shouldn't be too much trouble or anything… The key is on the kitchen table, so be sure to get that before you leave. Also, by the phone is the number where we'll be staying. If something comes up with Akamaru, I'd prefer if you called our home phone rather than Kiba's cell phone."

Shino nodded his head. "No, it's fine. No trouble at all. Akamaru doesn't really like many people but us anyway, so it all works out… But…you know…if you need me to come along for some support, I wouldn't mind…" He glanced over at Kiba, unable to shake the thought of how scary it was seeing him like that out of his head.

Hana's eyes glowered, leaning toward him, whispering. "Considering where we're going, that would probably be the worst plan of action on your part. It'd be best to just stay here and watch Akamaru." He couldn't help but feel like she wasn't warning him about Kiba's place back home. As if somehow she was warning him to not get too close. But how could he just ignore that when Kiba was acting like _this_?

She turned on her heels, going to the man standing by the entrance to the elevator and planting a tender kiss on his lips. "Juugo, thank you _so_ much for driving us to the airport…" She turned back. "Kiba, it's time to go."

Kiba rose, grabbing his bags and following her listlessly.

The second they left, Akamaru walked out of his room, padding over to Kiba's friend. He looked up at him, whining a little. It took a lot to rip his eyes away from the elevator, but Shino finally managed to look down at the dog.

"What's wrong, Akamaru?"

The dog whined again, and Shino walked over to his bowl in the kitchen, pouring him some dog food. "Here you go." The dog looked at it disdainfully, growling at him a little. The man just growled right back. "So you're _not_ hungry? I'm not Kiba. I don't know what you're thinking! What the hell do you want!?"

The dog growled again, indignant that Shino would have the nerve to yell at him. He stalked back to his room, throat emitting a growl that sounded more like a dull roar.

Shino looked at the dog, frowning. He stepped into the room to figure out what Akamaru wanted, and the dog knocked him over. He fell backwards, Akamaru standing in the doorframe and barking wildly at the tall man invading his territory. Shino threw his hands up in the air, shouting as loud as he could.

"Shut the _hell_ up! He spoils you rotten, you stupid mutt! Don't think you're the only one that's going to miss him!!"

He crawled to his feet and stormed over to the kitchen, grabbing the spare key on the table. The dog trotted in, whining again, but this time Shino bent down and stared into the dog's eyes. He frowned, patting the dog on the head.

"You've got to be older than a year…" He sighed, carefully putting an arm over the dog's back, hugging him slightly. "I'll bet you miss his mother, too…"

He sighed again, standing. "How about we take a walk?"

–––––––––––––––––––

He didn't know how he wound up in the part of town where the museum was located. All he knew was he was completely lost, looking around uselessly at all of the studio buildings. Akamaru, like his master earlier in the afternoon before he left, was completely listless, not really paying attention to any of the other dogs he came across like he normally did. In fact, it felt more like _he_ was dragging the dog than the dog dragging _him_.

That's when he bumped into someone. Whoever it was doubled backward, and Shino himself had to keep himself from falling over on top of the dog sitting close to his heels. His fingers immediately went to his shades in an attempt to keep them on his face.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, yeah!!"

His eyes turned to see a man with long blond hair, a lock of it falling in his face, the rest of it pulled back into a loose ponytail. He had a hammer in both hands–the head in one and the handle in the other. Shino looked him up and down, surprised he looked very feminine. His cheeks went red. The man was absolutely livid.

"Oh, I'm glad you like what you see, asshole, but it's polite to apologize when you bump into someone, yeah!"

Shino sighed, looking up at the studio the man had come out of, as if in a trance. "Don't."

The other man pushed him back, growing more and more angry. "Don't what!? Don't yell at you!? I'll yell at you if I want, yeah! You will _rue_ the day you mess with Deidara, hmmm?!"

Shino turned, looking him in the eye coldly. "My best friend's mother just died. Give me fucking _break_."

The man–Deidara–pursed his lips together, eyes soft for a moment. He looked the man over thoughtfully…before he gave him a swift kick to the groin. Shino fell to his knees, and Deidara spat on his head, making sure to kick him off to the side of the sidewalk as he walked off. "I don't give a shit about your best friend, yeah! I _hope_ he's suffering!" As he walked by the dog, his eyes softened considerably, patting the dog on the head.

"Oh! Cute puppy!"

He walked down the street, huffing to himself. "First Sasori makes me break my hammer again, I find I've got no spares and have to go buy a new one and complain how easy to break they are so I get it for free, and now some idiot in some trench coat and sunglasses shoves into me and starts complaining about his personal life. Some people have no manners, yeah. Or fashion sense. Trench coats went out of style when the snow thawed, yeah?!" He whirled his head back to face the younger, yet taller, man, shouting back at him.

"If I see you again, I'm kicking your ass, dickface!!"

–––––––––––––––––––

It was Thursday, and the two siblings had left just twelve hours before. Shino sighed, stepping over toward the front desk. Surprisingly, Ino was much less vindictive than she normally was. She propped her head in her hand, tapping her finger on the desk in front of her.

"I hope you're feeling better tomorrow, Shino."

He turned to her, looking weary. She just turned her face to the computer, refusing to look at him. "Even I can tell you're upset about it. Even more upset than when I was suffering while my father was in the hospital…" She glanced back at him, giving him a soft smile.

"You weren't on time yesterday, either. That's how I knew. Not to mention that line of a mouth of yours has descended into the most pitiful pout I've ever seen. So. I hope you feel better tomorrow." She waved her hand at him, and he just stormed into the office.

He got to his cubicle immediately, slumping down in his chair. There was a soft hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see a flash of pink and turquoise eyes. His eyes widened, and he stuttered.

"You're Sa–"

She slapped him across the face. "That's for TenTen, you sack of shit." She handed him a document. "And this. This is for Shikamaru. He's hiding away in the break room. He asked me to do it, and I'm giving it to you. _Enjoy_." Her tone suggested she hoped he'd get absolutely _no_ enjoyment out of it.

He just looked at her miserably, rubbing his cheek and accepting it. He sighed. "Whatever… It doesn't really matter to me…" He went back to his desk, and the woman stared at him, slightly peeved he didn't act the same way as she'd hoped he would.

She huffed. "Is that it?"

He looked back up at her, sighing again. "Obviously not enough for you. I'm really sorry for breaking it off with TenTen. But if I stayed with her any longer, I would've wound up hurting her, and I'm just glad it never escalated before I cut it off…" He looked back at the computer bitterly. "I know I would've tried to sleep with her. I wanted to in order to find a connection. But there wasn't any, so I'm glad it never got serious. I don't need this shit from you; my friend's mother just died and he's not acting the same." His cheeks went red, and he swallowed.

She just stared at him for a long moment, until he turned back to her. "Do you _mind_, Miss Haruno?"

She bit her lip. "So…you didn't break up with her because she wouldn't sleep with you?"

He just stared at her for the longest time, his voice bitter. "Do I honestly look like the type of person who'd give a damn about sex? I like to think I'm at least somewhat of a gentleman." He groaned, going back to his work, leaving it at that.

She swallowed. "Your friend… He's the one I'm temping for, right? You…You should be there for him, you know. I mean…if he's not acting the same… You should find a way."

He spun his office chair around, facing her full on. Despite the fact that he looked worse for wear, there was something challenging in his eyes. Something like hope, as if he could do something to help TenTen, as if he could do _something_ to help his situation and at least help _someone_ when he couldn't help Kiba. "You should be there for TenTen. Talk to her. She'll listen now. I know because she told me about your letter in her advice column."

Sakura gave him a warm smile, her fingers twisting together. "Well. I'll be sure to do that. …But only if you help your friend." She paused a moment, her voice softening even further, surprisingly. "…I wish you luck…" She gave him a hopeful smile, fingers twisting together even more anxiously. He watched them, realizing he had a rather nasty habit of doing that, too. When was he going to break that habit?

He wanted to say he wished her luck, but he couldn't. He couldn't fulfill the bargain. She'd only do it if he went after Kiba, but that was the one thing he couldn't do. He had to take care of Akamaru, and besides, he also had work to do. Sure, he'd saved up enough vacation days to last him at least four weeks after never using them for four years, but…that still left Akamaru. He sighed, going back to the computer. And, for that matter, he couldn't stand the sight of Kiba. Every time he looked at the dog-lover after that little incident Monday evening, he felt something twist in his chest, like a hot poker scalding his heart, churning his stomach.

He'd thrown up after the whole ordeal, and even Tuesday afternoon when Hana called him up and told him what had happened, when he went over there to meet her and discuss everything, he had to excuse himself when he caught sight of Kiba. He'd thrown up then, too. Sure he'd told Hana he wouldn't mind going down there, but that was only because he knew she'd refuse. Wednesday was his only relief, for he'd finally managed to go without puking after seeing the dog-lover.

He was in _deep_. He groaned, putting his face in his hands, and that same soft hand placed itself on his shoulder.

"If it hurts that much, then it's obvious what you need to do."

He whirled around, standing. "It doesn't…It doesn't _hurt_." He stormed off to the men's room when another flashback of that heated moment Monday night seized him.

As he hovered over the bowl, wiping a bit of vomit off his face, he found himself back where he'd been that night–paralyzed. He still didn't understand why it had felt right, and he still didn't understand why he felt the need to puke every time he saw the shorter man, and he sure as _hell_ didn't understand why it bothered him so much when he saw him staring off into space like that, but it did, and now that it did, he felt he needed to _do_ something about it.

But what could he possibly do about it? Kiba needed him, damn it! And because of that stupid dog that was _way_ too big for travel, he had nothing he could do!

He bit his lip, fighting the urge to cry again. Deep in his heart, he knew he was just making up excuses. If he wanted to go, he could find a way easily. But if he followed him…Kiba would surely tell him he was gay.

He opened the door to the stall after flushing the toilet, going to the sink and avoiding the broken mirror. He began washing his hands when that troublesome duo walked in, as if they knew he was in there the entire time. He washed his face off, finally turning the faucet off and leaning on the countertop wearily.

Shikamaru's hand went immediately to the taller man's shoulder. "Hey, Shino. You don't look so good, _buddy_."

Shino whirled on him, shoving him back into one of the stalls. "Don't call me that, you lazy, sarcastic, tree-hugger! You like TenTen so much, right?? I broke up with her! That means you're free to date her now! But you're not going to ask her, _are_ you!? And why is that!? It's because you're too much of a coward!"

The man spit at him, looking up at the ceiling angrily. "You have _no_ right to be giving me advice on my love life when yours is completely in shambles, Aburame. In fact, you're not even sure _what_ you are anymore, are you?" His tone breached sarcastic, even reaching the point of sounding like a playground taunt with that smile in his voice.

Chouji frowned, just as Shino was finding the irresistible urge to full-out attack them both. "Shikamaru, you know…you don't have to mess with his head like that… It's rude." He turned to Shino. "I really think–"

"I don't _care_ what you think, Chouji!! Who needs advice from you!? Hinata says she can't be with you because of her father and you just give up that easily!? You call yourself a man!? A man who cares about her!? You're just as much of a coward as Shikamaru! That's why neither of you have even given a thought to separate apartments despite the fact that you both know it's a hassle living together! You're both too afraid of doing anything that requires a backbone or releasing this freaky support system you've built up over the years! I've heard of fat-enablers, but what you two enable in each other is an inability to change anything in your life for the better!"

Chouji sniffled, and looked as if he were about to cry. Guilt welled up in Shino almost immediately. He sighed in a huff, flustered and angry all at once. "Whatever. I just…don't want to talk right now… I'll yell again…and it won't end well with any of us."

"Kiba needs you, Aburame." They were back to a last name basis. Just great. There went one friendship that made sense to him. "More than you know."

He turned around, at Shikamaru getting up and dusting off his backside. "What."

Chouji nodded weakly, still sort of upset over Shino's biting remark in regards to Hinata. "He's your best friend! His sister can only give so much of her love. He needs love outside of the family right now… He probably feels completely empty, and looking at his sister probably isn't helping at all! I mean, I can totally see…he just…" He sniffled, wiping at his eyes again. "Can _you_ imagine that? Every time you look at your own sister, you're forced to remember she's the only one left in your family? That must be _hell_… I really think–"

"I! Can't! Go! His dog's too damn big to fit on a plane!"

As Chouji was interrupted with yet another scream, the big guy flinched visibly, about ready to fall apart by how angry Shino was acting right then.

"Just shut the hell up and stop throwing such a tantrum, Aburame. You're making Chouji upset. Just…give me some time to think. That dog…"

Shikamaru went to the broken mirror, at the bare metal left when the glass had shattered. He hummed, closing his eyes in concentration. "Not…exactly." He turned to Shino, eyes opening wide, stating matter-of-factly. "That dog's not _too_ big. Take out the back seats of a van and there'd be enough room for him to lay down. That way you could put all the stuff for the trip in the passenger seat next to you." He shrugged his shoulders. "Now all you need is the guts to do it and a van."

He glared. "I don't even know where they live." He wanted Shikamaru to stop. The shorter man was giving him things, things that would help him out. But maybe he didn't _want_ to be helped… He was running out of excuses to not follow Kiba, and Shikamaru was making sure he'd run out. Why couldn't everyone just leave him the hell alone??

Shikamaru grabbed him by the shoulders. "You know his parents train dogs and breed them. Look in any pet magazine and you'll find ads for dog-breeders who breed a certain type of dog. Their last name is Inuzuka. I'll bet you anything that's in the name. All you need to do now is narrow down where they live so you can find the yellow pages for that area."

"I…" He sighed. "I can't do that. They could be _anywhere_. All I have is their home phone number! I could call his sister and ask for the address, but she absolutely hates the idea of me going to the funeral!"

Shikamaru gave him a smile, finally finding a use for all of that useless shit he decided to memorize way back in college after watching _Rain Man_ for the twelfth time in a single weekend. "Give me that area code and I can tell you the county and state they live in. How's _that_ for narrowing it down?"

Shino groaned, pushing away from them and heading for the door. He put a hand to his forehead, that wave of confusion taking root again. Just…what the hell was Kiba anymore? His best friend? A guy who wound up kissing him one night on accident? Something more? A friend who sometimes acted more than friendly toward him? And just what the hell was he to _Kiba_?

He swallowed that thought. No. Absolutely not. He didn't give two shits what Kiba thought of him. And he shouldn't have cared what Kiba was to him, either. They were friends. That was _it_.

"I…I don't like…"

The two both stared at him, their faces showing a hint of curiosity. As in, more curiosity than was required for the situation. Both of them spoke in unison, smiles creeping onto their faces.

"You don't like…?"

He turned to them, surprised he'd spoken out loud. His face flushed, and he stuttered. "N-Nothing…" He rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to leave, but at the same time he wanted to stand there, to wait for them to say something. As crazy as it sounded, he desperately needed someone to tell him how he was feeling, why he was so confused over this whole thing.

Shikamaru crossed his arms over his chest, shrugging boredly. He glanced up at the ceiling, the smile on his face spreading from ear to ear. "Well…if it's nothing, then why are you standing there looking at the floor like that? Got anything else you want to say?" His eyes turned, and the two dark-haired men's eyes met, separated by only that pair of black sunglasses. "Or is it something you want _us_ to say?"

"Kiba's gay."

The words slipped from his mouth before he realized he was speaking. Looking back at the whole situation, he was at a complete loss as to what that had to do with anything or how it would explain anything. He bit his lip, closing his eyes. Shit. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone.

When he opened his eyes, Shikamaru and Chouji were staring at him, jaws dropped, eyes wide. Chouji sputtered. "Wh-Wha– Y– Wait, you _know_!?"

It was Shino's turn to be surprised. "Wait, _you_ know??"

Chouji and Shikamaru just nodded their heads fervently. Something twisted in his stomach, and that fear crept back into him–that same fear that crept up every time Kiba mentioned why he got kicked out of the house or started to say he was gay. That…That was what he wanted to hear. He finally took a deep breath, finally after so much confusion. That was what he wanted to hear! He wanted to hear it from someone, to hear if he even had a chance of everything going right back to normal as they always had been.

"…How did you feel when he told you? Wh-What did you think? Did you feel like it meant you were supposed to grow closer? That somehow…" He struggled for the words, finally spitting it out quietly. "That _something_ in your relationship with him would…change?"

Both of the men in front of him struggled to hear him, he was speaking so quietly. Finally, Shikamaru absorbed all of the information, motioning to Chouji for them to leave. As he walked by Shino, he stared at him, looking amiable at him for the first time since their argument. "I think you know that answer…Shino."

Shino stared at the ground, his chest heavy, that sickening feeling rising in his chest. He…He did. He just… He looked up, just as Shikamaru reached the door. "Please. I need to hear it." He rubbed the back of his head, trembling for some reason he couldn't put his finger on. "I need to hear it from someone…sure."

Shikamaru looked back at him, shaking his head. "No. I did not think our relationship would change in the slightest."

They both walked out of the bathroom, and Shino fell to his knees. He curled up by the sinks, knowing it was childish to be making such a big deal about it. If he didn't think about it, it wouldn't bother him. He took a deep breath, trying to picture the look on that dog's face when he went and told him they'd be getting out of the house.

–––––––––––––––––––

He walked out of the bathroom after a good four minutes, going to his desk. Neji walked by, going over and giving him a nice pat on the back.

"Cheer up, Shino. Kiba will be back before long, just like he always was, annoying the hell out of all of us."

Something welled up in him, and he jerked back, elbowing Neji hard in the thigh. The man gasped, stumbling backward and clutching his leg. He spat at him. "What the _fuck_ are you getting so pissed off about, Aburame!? I thought we were friends after we all went out outside of work, but it's obvious you're only interested in being friends with one person! He's not here, damn it! It's time for you to pay attention to some of your other friends!"

Shino stood up, blurting out every hateful word he could come up with. "You?? _My_ friend?? Don't make me laugh, Neji! I have hated you since the first day you started here!" He clenched his fists, nearly throwing them up in the air. "All you do is complain to your uncle about not getting a part in the company, wishing your cousin harm so that you can have a chance to take over that company! Why would I like _anything_ about you when you have no concern for anyone other than yourself!? And you wonder _why_ Chouji hates you so much!? It's because you remind him of Hinata all the time! You're an eyesore!"

Neji opened his mouth to shout back before he froze, eyes going wide. "Wh… **WHAT!?** _Chouji's_ the fuck that makes her cry every night!? I'm going to kill that asshole!"

Chouji's head peeked out from his cubicle and he swore loudly. Neji started toward him, cracking his knuckles and puffing out his chest, immediately starting a battle of intimidation before it came to fists. He glared at the larger man. "Sure I want Hinata to get lost so I can have a chance at that company, but she's still my cousin and all she's done ever since she's gotten together with that Naruto has been complain over how she liked her old fiancée more. She cries every night, keeping everyone in the house up and unable to think properly. I can't even go over there for dinner without her locking herself in her room in tears. Your head is going up Shikamaru's ass, Chouji! I'll fucking tear you to pieces!"

Chouji's face paled, and he couldn't keep the smile from his face. "She…She still thinks about me…? She still…loves me?"

He was still smiling when Neji's fist collided with his gut.

Shino winced as a fist collided with his own face. He looked up in shock to see Shikamaru breathing heavily, all of the lingering trust he had in Shino going out the window. He slammed the taller man into the wall of the cubicle, voice low. "Don't even _think_ I'm giving you any help with the problem with _your_ best friend. You could've kept your mouth shut, but no. You had to be a complete _asshole_ and bring your sour mood everywhere into the office. I swear, if Chouji winds up fired, you're never going to hear the end of this."

He steamed, going over to where the fight was to go break it up.

Shino just stared at the entire thing, feeling completely surreal. This _had_ to be a dream. It just _had_ to be a dream. He couldn't possibly imagine what he'd do if–

He dashed out of the office, fighting this sense of hopelessness running through him. He was still telling himself it had to all be a dream as he boarded the bus to take him home.

–––––––––––––––––––

The elevator door opened and he walked into Hana's suite, his eyes immediately going to the dog curled up on the sofa. The second he stepped forward, Akamaru looked up, whimpering.

His face fell, and he walked over, falling into the couch. He stared at his hands, his heart racing, still unable to get the events out of just a mere hour and a half out of his head. Had the office _really_ been torn to pieces–his friendship with Chouji and Shikamaru included–in the course of a single hour and a half? He looked at the dog, patting its head.

To his surprise, he felt amazingly calm afterward.

Akamaru looked up at him, eyes drifting toward the kitchen boredly. He peeked over, surprised to see a tuft of bright orange-red hovering over the half-wall leading to the kitchen. He stood, going toward the kitchen.

The man turned around, smiling bitterly. "Rough day at work, too?"

Shino stared at him, looking him over. He was Juugo…Hana's boyfriend. The same one who'd gone crazy and nearly wound up in prison. He'd stayed at a mental institute for a while according to what Kiba had told him. He held out his hand, hesitant at first. "I'm…Shino."

The man took Shino's hand, nodding his head. "Juugo."

Shino resisted the urge to whistle. This man was huge. Maybe only a foot taller than him, but still…his hand practically enveloped his. He couldn't believe what it was like for Hana to hold them. He looked down at the ground, fighting for words. "Er… So…like…" He bit his lip. "You're dating Hana…so…I'm sure it's hard for you…too."

Juugo smiled that same bitter smile. "Isn't it obvious? I didn't make it through lunch…same as you."

Shino's eyes flashed. "My…friend…gave me some advice. I was planning on renting a van and sticking Akamaru in the back. I doubt there'll be enough room for any bags unless they're in the passenger seat…but…if you'd like to come…"

The man nodded, looking over at the dog in the living room. "That's a good idea. I'm in. We'll just have to pack light and hope Akamaru doesn't tear them up the closer we get to them."

Shino nodded, rubbing the back of his head, nervous. "So… …I assume you know…about…er… You know about _him_, right? About…Kiba?" When the two men made eye contact through the sunglasses, he blurted out those words again. "Thathe'sgay."

Juugo nodded his head slowly, shrugging his shoulders. "Does it matter? …So is Suigetsu."

Shino's jaw dropped, and suddenly everything became clear to him. That whole conversation with him outside of that restaurant, the way he shouted that his nose was bleeding. His eyes narrowed. "So…Suigetsu was replaced…by another homosexual…" He leaned over toward Juugo. "Are you _sure_ they didn't hire those two _because_ of that?"

Juugo gave him a long look before he burst out laughing. His laugh was loud, causing the plasma television in the living room to actually vibrate. He wiped a tear from his eye, shaking his head. "I'm sure it's a coincidence."

Another awkward silence settled between them, and Shino twisted his fingers together anxiously. Juugo bit his lip. "He talks about you, you know… …He…He actually really…liked–"

Shino threw his hand in the man's face, face red. "Enough!" He trembled a little, narrowing his eyes, trying to contain himself. He'd had about enough of all of this shit all day, and the last thing he wanted to do was blow up in front of Akamaru…or a man who's mental state was frail. "What…What does it matter…? Does it _matter_ if he liked me like that? I mean…he never said _anything_ to me about it, never _did_ anything about it until after he got fired. What…What does it _matter_ that he liked me? I hated him. I _still_ hate him."

What Juugo said next froze his blood.

"Why can't you notice things when they matter?"

He looked up, eyes wide. He had no idea Juugo even spoke this much. The way he saw it from the numerous hints he'd gotten from Kiba, Juugo hardly said a thing. "Wh-What do you mean by that…?"

Juugo shook his head. "It's not important. We should probably concentrate more on how we're going to do organize this…"

Shino nodded. "I'll go back to work and request a few weeks off. You should do the same. Meet me back here tomorrow and we can go rent a van for the trip. We leave at noon. By that time I should have found out where they live."

Juugo shook his head, holding up a letter he'd found in the clutter of papers scattered around on the kitchen table, in his hand. "…No need."

Shino stared at the letter in the bigger man's hands, peering at it. It was from Kiba's mother, and he could clearly see the address of the sender printed on it. They could easily mapquest it or something. He snatched it from him, flipping it over and opening it. Why he felt obligated to investigate, he had no idea. Maybe it was the way Kiba had been so incredibly distant? He removed the letter from it, his nostrils flaring as something terribly pungent made its way toward his face. It reeked of cucumbers, a scent nearly overpowering.

Juugo sniffed the air, leaning over and getting a better scent of it. Shino looked at him. "Cucumbers?"

Juugo shook his head, eyes narrowing. He sniffed again. "Borage. A fitting smell for his mother, don't you think?" When Shino gave him a clueless look, Juugo elaborated. "All flowers have meanings in bouquets. In a bouquet, borage means courage or bluntness."

Shino's cheeks tinged pink. "…How should I know? I don't know his mother…"

"From what Hana tells me, it's extremely fitting."

Shino merely hummed in response, eyes hungrily devouring such an intimate note between Kiba and his mother. He knew it was wrong to look through Kiba's things, especially something as personal as a letter, but for some reason he found himself doing it anyway.

"_Dearest Kiba,_

"_How is my boy doing? I have sent Hana some more money for you. Ever since Dad died, I've been able to handle the money better, giving you some each year. I hope you're doing well. In response to your last letter, I'm doing fine. Tired, as always, but who isn't these days?_

"_Don't worry about me any more than you have to. I hope you find that special someone. I know how much you want to settle down. What was it you said in the last letter? A nice guy you can settle down with in a nice house with a big backyard for Akamaru? Yes, that was it. The perfect life for the perfect boy. Where am I? Calling you a boy when you turn thirty in July…_

"_You'll have to forgive me. It's just that I tend to get overwhelmed thinking of you growing older…leaving me behind. When was the last time I called you and told you I loved you? I have been speaking to Hana lately; she says you're currently looking for a job. How is that working out for you? I hope that when you do you find friends who care about you for who you are. And I also hope you find that special someone you were looking for._

"_And for the last time, damn it, I am fine with giving you this money. It's a gift, Kiba. You should accept it eagerly. I know how greedy you were as a kid; why are you suddenly growing out of that? Is it because you're stir-crazy living with your sister? I'd tell you not to grow up too fast, but it's beyond the age for those words. All I can do now is hope you make the right decisions. I taught you well. Your father and I instilled good morals in you, and I know you won't let me down._

"_I'm proud of you. I will write it as many times as I need to make up for all the times your father and I forgot to say it. One for each day."_

He flipped over the pages, finding page upon page filled with that single phrase–"I'm proud of you". He reached the fourth page before it finally went back into her normal writing mid-word.

"_I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you. I'm pr Ah, this is tiring. My hands are starting to cramp up. See what you made me do? You've always been such a little trouble-maker. Do you remember the time you and your friends threw rocks into the neighbor's window and wound up injuring four of her cats? I'll never forget it, Kiba. The way she screamed at you for hurting her cats. Your response still makes me chuckle to this day._

"_Maybe if they were dogs I'd give a shit, you old bat!_

"_Now…who taught you that language? Me or your father? Or was it both? Either way, I was too tickled by that to scold you. I figure now would be the best time to do it. Be more respectful to your elders! And cats are just as good as dogs, no matter how finicky they are! And how many times am I going to tell you not to call that bitch an old bat??_

"_Enough of that. I still haven't told you the best news of all–Kuromaru learned four more words during the time between our last letter! I am so, so, so proud of him. Not as proud as you, my little pup, but enough to tell you what they are:_

"Nutte_; _Schlampe_;_ Zicke_; and _Flachwichser_._

"_He had a lot of difficulty with most of the sounds his poor little doggie couldn't work around easily, but he managed to produce a satisfactory reproduction of them. Would you like to know what they mean? I am positively pink that he managed _'zicke'_. It means 'bitch'. Now he goes around, growling it out at me as best as he can. _'Nutte' _would be 'hooker'. _'Schlampe' _is 'slut' and can be used for both sexes. Try using that toward anyone who gives you a hard time, and by anyone, I mean a man, damn it. The last one I think will get a giggle from you. _'Flachwichser' _refers to someone who can't ejaculate in a straight line. I think that one, beside _zicke_–Kuromaru had the hardest time trying to form a 'Z' sound–was the hardest for him to learn. Definitely use _flachwichser _toward some sleaze who rubs you the wrong way. And please, for Mommy, make sure the bastard knows what it means. _

"_I hear the phone ringing, and I know I must answer it… I desperately await a reply to this letter. I made sure to spray my perfume all over it so you could reminisce with me. _

"_Until next time, my big, strong man of a son,_  
"_Your forever loving, forever proud Mom"_

He looked up at Juugo, completely at a loss to say. Words could not express what was working around in his chest at the moment. He'd never had anyone to talk to him like this, no one to be that loving. Sure, his father tried his best to fill the void, but it was never that endearing. Now that he had read this, he realized all of the tender moments he shared with his father didn't compare to this at all. A knot found its way to his throat, and he handed the letter to Juugo.

"You read it, too…"

Juugo nodded, and Shino swallowed, working his mouth to form words in a language that would make sense. "She…" He fought, struggled. "She did…She did a lot of….reminiscing…"

"You noticed that, too?"

He nodded his head, and Juugo's voice stiffened. "She was never like that when their father died. Hana told me…she was dying. She had…er…ovarian cancer or something like that. It was quick. The doctors thought she'd last until the end of August, but it caught her early."

Shino's eyes narrowed. "Why didn't she tell Kiba? She knew and she didn't even _tell_ him?"

"Hana didn't know either. Neither of them knew. Their mother was stubborn to the very end, it seems… Naturally, she didn't want them to worry. She probably knew how Kiba'd react, and she wanted him to move on, to grow up. As the letter states, she's really proud of him, and she wants him to grow up and eventually move out on his own without Hana giving him any support."

Shino felt something tighten, pull him thin, like he was walking on the edge of a great chasm and a wind was just starting to blow to tip him over. "Damn it…" He swore, looking down. "Damn it!" He threw the letter onto the ground, walking out into the living room. He paused in the hallway, pointing at the three rooms there on one wall. "Where's his room?!" He was in an almost uncontrollable fit of rage before he realized it.

Juugo walked out, nodding his direction. "The one in the middle."

He stormed into the room, looking around the room. It was nearly bare, even the closet was empty. He turned back to Juugo, poking his head out the door. "You've been here before. Was his room always this empty?"

Juugo's eyes swirled with confusion, and he opened his mouth to say something, eyebrows furrowing. "That's not right…" He walked over, pointing to the door, to the walls. "He usually has posters around here." He looked at the covers on the bed, the absence of clothes on the floor, in the closet. "No. He definitely cleared it out." His eyes widened in a panic and he quickly went to Hana's room, relieved to find all of her stuff there as it was.

Shino went into the closet, slamming his fist on the wall. "Damn it! He wasn't planning on coming back, was he!?"

Juugo shook his head as he walked back into the room, turning slightly red, looking to his feet. "No… Hana said their mother had left everything to him, even the old house. I'm sure the idea of living there was much too tempting to him."

Shino swore, hitting the wall again. Something tottering on the top shelf of the closet finally tumbled over, directly onto his head. Whatever it was clattered to the ground and he rubbed his head angrily, bending down and picking up a photo album.

He opened it, finding picture after picture after picture of Kiba and his sister, pictures of them by themselves, pictures of his father with them, pictures of the dogs back home, countless pictures of a lake and a wide acre of land–none of them with his mother in them, any group pictures with her included removed. He turned to Juugo, eyes glowering.

Shino flipped the sunglasses off his eyes and tucked them away in his coat pocket. He stormed out of the room, making his way for the elevator.

"Have your things packed and be here at seven. We're leaving _tonight_."

* * *

_Oh mans. My favorite part of this chapter is Shino's sudden__ flip from his mopey, angry, "what am I supposed to DO?" mode to "I mean business" mode. So HOT.  
_

_Ah, and Akamaru could feel it. That Kiba was planning on leaving for good. That's why he was so upset when Shino blew up in his face and said he was going to miss him, too. (Also why he trotted over to look for hugs.)_

_And, just so you're all aware, it's going to be so much fun having Shino drag Kiba kicking and screaming back to the city._


	16. The Funeral pt2

_For the longest time I struggled with writing Shino in the last chapter. He's a pain, considering the fact that he's just now feeling all of these swarm of emotions he's never felt before, yet at the same time his character is so…unemotional. I had trouble. But I could see him suddenly getting worked up. He, like with Sakura, was only trying to make Shikamaru and Chouji see how much they were missing out on. He wants to help someone, but the one person he wants to help the most left the afternoon before, so he's at a complete loss._

_In the end, I was satisfied with Shino ripping those sunglasses off his face and storming toward the elevator. Very powerful, I hope. _

_But yeah. Juugo was a silent enigma in the last chapter that featured him prominently, so it was kind of weird, forcing him to talk so I could move the plot in the direction I wanted to. But, I figure I did a relatively good job with him. Considering the fact that he is no longer in a crowded restaurant surrounded by people he doesn't know. Not to mention Akamaru's presence was probably calming him down and making him less anxious. …Plus, Shino's a lot like him in the silent department, so I'm sure they feel close._

_The one thought that makes me laugh about these two was that I had no plans to make Hana dating Juugo. In fact, I had planned on it being just some random person, until chapter Chapter Seven rolled around. Now that she is, the uncanny similarities with her relationship with Juugo and Kiba's with Shino is actually quite humorous. But it's only a coincidence. Sorry to disappoint any of you. _

_Though, it makes perfect sense. She and her brother are so much alike–dynamic, short-tempered yet amiable. It makes sense for them to choose someone their complete opposite to reign in their emotions and calm them down. I am positively pink at all the things I can do with their relationships now that this mirror has been formed._

_This chapter is a bit more sentimental. It revolves around Kiba, naturally, and his memories of his mother. So. Be prepared for italics. I had a lot of fun with this. It was sort of difficult, because my mother, who is probably THE nicest woman on earth (don't most people think that of their mothers?), was all I had to go on. I'm a Cancer, so I'm really in tune with family and stuff like that (June 30th), really good at making people feel at home without really trying, and being an all around softie, until someone messes with my friend, then I go ballistic, defending them ruthlessly even if I don't know the whole story. Despite the fact that I'm extremely family-oriented, I will never fully understand the thoughts of a mother because I have no children of my own. All I had to go by was how SHE made me feel when I was a child. I'm sure it's not that big of a deal since most of these memories are told from Kiba's perspective, so it's not like I have to try and make his mother think like a mother. Oh well. Hmmm. If I were to have kids, I'd want two boys and one girl. __Of course, there's no way in hell I'm enduring the pain of childbirth with them. Mpreg, please. I'd name them __Miles, Shoe and Charlie. That's right. Shoe. I don't know why, isn't that just charming in its own way? I mean, he'd get bullied ruthlessly so I'd have to stick it onto his middle name so no one would know, but still. Charlie for a girl. I think girls are cuter if they have boy names. Why? It brings out their femininity even more, don't you think? Then again, my dad's name is Charlie, so that might have something to do with it. Ha ha._

_I struggled to look up something quick for Kiba's father's name. It was a tie between Okami (wolf) and Nareta (domesticated) for a short while, before I finally settled on Nareta. Mainly because Okami, when written with different kanji, can also mean "landlady" or "mistress". Sure, domesticated isn't any better, but he'd definitely be whipped with a name like Okami in romanji._

_And the whole "mother knows" thing? Yeah. Totally from experience. My best friend is gay, and for the longest time I was very careful to make sure my parents didn't catch wind of it. Well, Bonnie (my gay friend) dated my other friend (who was just desperate for anyone) for a short amount of time. After they broke up, they both couldn't stand being in the same room, Bonnie being too upset and Beth being aggravated by how clingy Bonnie was. My mother asked me about it, and of course I said they got into a fight, said some bull shit about how Bonnie really looked up to Beth and Beth went and called her childish and needed to grow up and she wound up unable to even speak to her without getting upset. Well, the very next day Beth came over and we were all talking and laughing about it until Beth nearly lets slip that she and Bonnie dated. I quickly caught her, sputtering, "M-My mom doesn't KNOW!" My mom, of course, lovingly looks at me, a knowing look on her face. _

_"Know what, sweetie?"_

_"Ugh. There's no use hiding it from you. Bonnie's gay, Mom."_

_"Oh, I know."_

_Mom!? She could've at LEAST mentioned something to me about it so I didn't keep spazzing out every time Bonnie started ranting about gay rights in my house! I'm fairly certain that's how she figured it out. Either that or I was too loud on the phone one day. Knowing that, I'm fairly certain my parents think I'M gay, too. Oh well. Guess I better start being more open about that crush on that guy from school.  
_

_But anyway, enjoy. I listened to Blue October the entire time I wrote this. I hope its obvious by how emo this whole chapter is.  
_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 16_

He woke up in the morning to see her bustling around in his room, picking up her clothes as if he'd never left for a year. She turned around, smiling at him, her hands full of dirty clothes.

"_Kiba, your sister is coming down to visit for the weekend. Try not to sleep in this time, okay? It would mean a lot to her if you spent some time with her instead of your friends. I swear, those boys take up too much of your time. And what's that one boy? The one with the twin? Sakon? He seems to really like pinching you and teasing you something fierce. I worry about you…"_

Kiba stared at her, eyes wide. His voice faltered, and all he could was just stare at her, taking in her scent–that same scent; borage, her favorite. His favorite. She'd even gotten a perfume custom made to carry that fragrance. Every year she'd go back and get a little bit more, since she liked wearing it so much. She normally tried to keep the amount to a minimum, because her family could smell it easily, and if it got too strong the dogs wouldn't go around her, but today it was extremely potent.

But he remembered this so vividly. It had been the day before Hana flew in during her college break. The very same day before Hana discovered he was gay.

_She just sighed, picking up a pair of dirty underwear on the floor as she walked off. "If Sakon gives you any more trouble, let me know. I saw him pinning you to wall the other day outside of the general store. I don't know what you two were fighting about, but he looked extremely intense about it…" She walked over, planting a kiss on the top of his head. "Don't let him get to you, my little pup."_

As she walked out of the room, he noticed that same smile playing at her lips. At the time he'd been so flustered that his mother had actually witnessed him and Sakon in an intimate moment that he'd never given it any thought. Now that he was looking back on it, he realized she must've known right then that he was gay.

He shuffled out into the kitchen, his face pale, lips drawn in a thin line, his chest feeling unbearably cold. Hana was sitting there at the table, going through some papers, on the phone with someone. Her glasses were back on–the reading ones, not the ones for show–and as he walked in, she looked up at him, speaking to whoever was on the phone.

"I have to call you back later. My brother just walked into the room. Yes, we'll be up there around noon to agree to the arrangements Mom made for her funeral. Thank you, Mr. Tobitake. This means a lot to us."

She hung up the phone, putting it down on the table and looking back at him. "Kiba…" He just stared at her for a long time before he sat down, staring at his chest. His sister sighed, ignoring all the noise as her three dogs burst through the back door, through the kitchen, barking wildly. They took their fight into the living room, and she sighed again.

"I doubt you're hungry, Kiba. But you need to eat. Let me make you something…" She stood, going to the pantry and pulling out the cereal she'd made sure to buy. Apparently, during the last month, their mother had been in and out of the hospital so often, she didn't bother to get any new groceries. Hana went to the other side, of the sink and over the counter, pulling out the bowl and grabbing the spoon from the drawer in the counter. This place…she could still remember where everything was. It was right where it always was, right where it needed to be.

She went to the fridge, pulling out the milk she'd bought after she realized the milk in the fridge was at least two weeks past its expiration date. Making him a bowl of cereal, she tried her best to keep her mind from wandering. She looked at him, noticed how he looked just the same as before. "I'm making your favorite."

He glanced over at the bowl, spying the Cookie Crisp wolf on the box. He just looked back down again, sighing pathetically. Hana's eyes narrowed, and she slammed the bowl down in front of him, forcing the spoon into his hand. "Eat." She said.

When he began eating very slowly, she walked over to the papers on the other side of the table. "We're going today at noon to read the will. Usually they wait until after the funeral, but she has a video message she left for us." Her eyes turned to Kiba, whose ears she could see were perking up. "…It's going to be good hearing her voice after so long, I expect…"

Kiba looked at her bitterly, feeling his appetite diminish. He knew Hana was always calling Mom, but he never got a chance to talk to her. At all. It was always when he was gone somewhere, or when he was in bed asleep, or something.

Hana sighed. "There were many times I tried to get Mom to talk to you. Every time she refused. Looking back on it now, I realize it was probably too hard for her to talk to you without breaking down and telling you everything… She always sounded ready to cry when I hung up the phone…" She picked up a piece of paper idly, skimming it over.

"Thank God It's Friday…" She whispered. After a short while, she looked back at him. "Are you ready for the funeral on Sunday? I know a lot of her friends she made form church will be there. Mom was positively ecstatic the day that old coot from the pharmacy kicked the bucket, so at least you won't have to deal with him giving you looks and trying to stuff Trojans in your pocket…" She smiled a little, hoping he'd find some humor in that. When he didn't make a sound, she went into the living room, whistling loudly.

The dogs all sat for attention, their fight resolved. A few seconds later Hana was herding them back outside. For the longest time she stood at the door, staring into the backyard. They had at least an acre of land. There was a kennel off to the very edge of the field, a large fenced-off section for the dogs that needed to be separated or in labor. Off to the side was an enclosure, one reserved for the dogs that were in the obedience school. In the very center of the field was a large pond, dragonflies skimming along the water in quick little darts. Her dogs, all from the same litter, all brothers, all raced off back to the kennels.

The business had fallen into a slump after Dad died. All of the dogs used for breeding were sold off, and all of the puppies bred were sold off, the runts no one wanted being given to the program in a town over that trained dogs to become seeing-eye dogs. Looking at it now, the place looked empty, lifeless.

Something warm enveloped her right side, and she looked over to see Kuromaru standing there, eyeing the slightly younger dogs warily. He growled out a spiteful, "idiots", before he looked over and licked her hand. Hana smiled lightly, reaching down and tugging on Kuromaru's remaining ear lovingly.

She still remembered when Mom had called her up–it was when she was still on college–regaling some big tale on how Kuromaru managed to get into a fight with a neighborhood stray that kept jumping the fence into the enclosures, riling up all the dogs in the kennel. He'd lost his ear in the process, and after they noticed his eye causing him trouble, they found out he'd lost his sight in the opposite eye at the same time. But it was nothing compared to the injuries the stray received.

_"It's so wonderful, Hana! I made an eye patch for my little hero, and he wears it around proudly! You should just see him! Your father says it makes him look like a Nazi, but I disagree. I even taught him to say 'Arrrr' and he walks around the house saying it as often as possible! He's just like a little pirate!" Her mother had said._

Hana smiled at the memory, leaning down and giving the big dog a warm hug. "Mom always thought she'd outlive you, boy… But you're seventeen and still going strong… How's that arthritis doing?"

The dog merely grumbled in response, letting out a timid, "Hurt". Hana stroked his fur, leading him off into the living room so he could relax at her feet. She glanced at Kiba for a moment as she passed, slightly upset that he hadn't resumed eating.

–––––––––––––––––––

Kiba sighed, walking out into the backyard, finding the table right beside the grill. He remembered this table well. It had so many memories for him, both good and bad. Sakon had first kissed him on this table. More like _at_ it, but still. He'd been so flustered, arguing a little at first, until Sakon had challenged that the lights to the backyard weren't on so no one would see a thing.

He bit his lip, going and sitting down at the table. His mother loved barbequing things on the grill. If it was one thing she'd always wanted to teach him but never got around to, it was grilling.

_His mother leaned over the table, smiling a little to herself, appraising all the looks her family was giving the meat on the table. She smiled, making sure to stroke Kiba's cheek lovingly as he looked up at her, eyes bright, reaching his little nine-year-old hand toward one of the breasts of chicken._

"_It looks yummy, Mommy!"_

_She smiled, looking over at her husband. He was smiling to himself, a little bit more smug than usual. He grabbed a rib, tearing the meat off of it in one bite. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. "Tsume, honey, you did an amazing job on the barbeque. My compliments to the chef. You made it sweet, just like we like it."_

_She gave her husband a reproachful look as Hana laughed sarcastically, trying to get on his good side–she'd been begging for a car ever since she started her driver's ed. "You know you like it spicy, Dad. We only eat the sweet kind because Mom can't _stand_ spicy sauce." She reached over and bit into a chicken breast, her eyes widening a little in surprise._

_The woman spotted the look on her daughter's face and seized a chicken breast angrily. It looked as if the bastard did it again. She took a bite, her eyes suddenly watering as the sensation of fire filled her mouth. She gagged, spitting out whatever was in her mouth and diving for the lemonade sitting beside her. She took a big gulp, downing nearly the entire glass. Her eyes were wild as her husband burst out laughing._

"_You bastard! You switched the sauce on me again, didn't you!? You _know_ how I am when it comes to spicy foods!" She leaned across the table, grabbing a leg in the process and shoving it into his mouth, trying to get it down his throat. Her children burst out laughing, and her cheeks went red with embarrassment. As he choked a little and took the drumstick from his mouth, she spat at him. "Embarrassing me in front of my own children, Nareta!? Oh, you are going to get it tonight! You're sleeping in the fucking kennel with the rest of your kind!"_

_He just laughed wholeheartedly, leaning across the table and rubbing some of the sauce onto her cheek as he stroked it, lovingly, apologetically. She just slapped his hand away, and he gave her a loving smile. "I could say the same for you, my darling bitch."_

_Her eyes swirled with some sort of emotion neither of her children could place before she burst out laughing. Kiba took an eager bite of his chicken, nearly choking. He went for his own glass of lemonade, downing the entire thing and looking at his mother anxiously for the rest of hers before his little mouth gave out. This set the older members at the table into hysterics as she handed him her glass, patting his back warmly._

"_Kiba, you're going to have to learn not to take such big bites next time! You did the same thing last time Daddy switched the sauces. Surely you've learned to test it first??" He swallowed the remaining contents of the glass, letting out a big sigh of relief as the last of it fell into his stomach._

_He looked back up at his mother, grinning. She stared at him for a moment before a grin made its way to her face. "Oh! You lost another baby tooth! You better put that under your pillow for the tooth fairy, Kiba!" He nodded energetically._

"_Alright! I hope she brings me a quarter instead of a nickel this time!"_

He traced his finger in the wood of the table, feeling his insides tearing apart. He remembered that so clearly. The next morning when he woke up, he'd had a dollar under his pillow. He bit his lip, looking over at the house again, something swirling around inside of him. He never wanted to leave home again. Right after he left home, both of his parents had died. That was what he got for being such a terrible son and refusing to go back home even after his mother had told him she had his place back in the family reserved for him. He knew it'd been a bad idea. He met Shino, met a couple of friends along the way, but all it had done was bring heart-ache. He should've stayed home. His mother had been dying. He knew that's why she asked him to come back.

Why hadn't he listened to her?

Why hadn't he realized something was up when he went there for Easter and she dragged him to church, despite the fact that she knew how everyone there felt about him? He'd assumed she'd changed because Dad died, but that was at least two months afterward. Looking back on it now it was obvious: she'd been diagnosed with that cancer and realized she wouldn't be alive forever.

His fists clenched, nails digging into the wood.

Why hadn't she told him? There were so many chances. Even over Easter, she could have said everything to him. He'd even gone with her to the hospital for Christ's sake! She said she was just getting a check-up. Because she didn't want the same thing that happened to Dad happen to her. She wanted to make sure she was healthy.

But that wasn't a routine check-up, was it? He couldn't believe he never noticed how much more tired she was after it, or think anything of it when she said she needed to stop at the pharmacy on the way home and pick up some antacids! How could he have been so stupid??

"Kiba."

He turned his head to see his sister standing there, holding her hand out to him. "Come on. We need to go up to her lawyer's office. Her video message to us and the will. Remember? It's almost noon…"

He stood, knocking the hand trying to rest itself on his arm away from him as he walked back into the house. She just sighed, turning her head to peer over those indentions in the wood. "Quit holding it in, Kiba…" She mumbled quietly, before she walked in after him.

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Her sister was wearing those red-rimmed glasses she'd bought for work. She looked so geeky and cute at the same time. He could tell he wasn't the only one who thought that when they walked into their mother's lawyer's office and the man immediately seized her hand to kiss it.

"It's a pleasure to meet my client's beautiful children."

She removed her hand from his grasp, an irritated smile on her face. "My brother is beautiful as well. Aren't you going to grant him the pleasure of a kiss on his hand?" The man looked her up and down, realizing she was no-nonsense. He changed his strategy.

"Tsume always said her daughter was a prosecutor in the city. It must be difficult being a female in that line of business." He pointed to her glasses. "My female co-workers use the same ploy. But you don't have to make yourself up to look smart around me. Your mother was always going on about how smart you were."

She nodded her head, smiling sweetly. "I came here for my mother, not her jackass legal consultant." She pulled Kiba into the room, both of them taking a seat in front of his desk. "To business, _Mr. Tobitake_." She spit out, her lips curled in a sneer.

The man cleared his throat, going to sit behind his desk and throw a silent tantrum that he'd failed in his endeavor. He pulled out something from his drawer–a videotape–and quickly popped it into the VHS player under the television set to his left. It was sitting on a file cabinet shoddily, as if he'd recently gotten it installed and was still looking for a better place to put it.

"Your mother recorded this message in the hospital about a month ago, so she may look different than what you normally remember her by. She wanted me to play this for you, and for you to follow the instructions in the video."

The television flickered to life, and there was some focusing before it focused on a frail woman resting in a bed, a few wires connected to her chest, leading to machines. There was an I.V drip connected to her wrist, and she sighed tiredly as she looked over at the camera. The siblings' stomachs twisted at the sight of her. Her skin was much paler than last time, a faint yellow tint to it at the same time. Her hair was long and stringy, and looked like it hadn't been washed in a while. It was thinner than they remembered, and both assumed it was the chemotherapy. What had changed the most about her, though, was her size. She looked tiny in that bed, and they could tell by how thin she was that it was no surprise then that she didn't make it to August like they'd assumed in the initial diagnosis.

"You'll have to forgive me for not being much to look at. Your mother isn't as much of a sex-idol as she was back before this diagnosis. I'm sorry I have been keeping it a secret." Her face fell, and her voice trembled. "Especially from you, my little pup… Hana, I'm sorry you have to hear this, but he was always my favorite of you two. I know I would tell you he was my favorite son whenever you asked why I was easier on him, and that you were my favorite daughter…but it's true. He was my favorite of you two. I just want him to know that not a day goes by that I don't think about him…"

She sighed, clearing her throat a little. "I love you both so much. Yes, Kiba may be my favorite, but that was only because I'd settled into this whole parent thing by the time he was born. I enjoyed it more, being old enough to not have to look back and bitterly wish I'd waited a little bit longer, done a little bit more with my life before I had a child." She took a shuddering breath.

"I've been like this since March. Not like _this_, as you can see, but I've been _dying_ since March. I'm okay with it, though. I truly believe that my death will bring you both not only sadness but something more as well." Her face brightened. "I know it sounds weird, but like the women at church say, there's a reason for everything. So this…" She threw her hands weakly up toward all of the medical equipment before her smile widened. "…this…dying _bitch _has a purpose. My death will give something back." Her mood changed. "At least, I will have to tell myself that. Just you two wait. The reason behind my death will eventually reach you, and both of you will realize you've grown because of it." She laughed lightly.

"That's why I'm going to have to ask you two to sit back and listen to my Bible Study group leader give my eulogy. I know you two would give a far more meaningful eulogy, but I don't think its right for you two to speak up about me yet.

"Kiba…I have known ever since I saw you and Sakon in the backyard at almost midnight that you were gay. That's why I was so upset when your father found out. I never spoke up, but I realize I probably should have. Usually I am able to keep things under control, hold some sort of control over him, but he was just so upset. He lost all control, throwing things everywhere. I'd never been scared of him until he got that angry. It was all I could do to keep myself from nearly screaming when he had that heart attack. After you went to live with Hana, I yelled at him constantly for kicking you out of the family, kicking you out of the house. I never realized how torn up he was over it, either." She sighed.

"Hana, I know I have been nothing but rude to you in this video. I know I've been saying I favor Kiba, and I'm sure you're hurt deeply by that, but I have one more thing to say to you. Your mother knows you more than you know. I know you're good at what you do. But I also know you're better at caring than you are at prosecuting. Your heart is big, and I was sorely disappointed when you told us you were switching to a law major rather than staying with the veterinary program. I can't… I just can't see you happy doing your job, throwing people in prison. Sure, I can see you doing it for the people who need to be put in prison: the rapists, the murderers, those with no concern for the people they hurt…but by the things you've told me over the years, it's usually over small disputes… Things that are pointless and heart-breaking to everyone involved."

"As Mr. Tobitake has already been instructed to tell you in the event of my death, you probably know that I gave everything to Kiba. I gave him the house, just as I gave him the money. I didn't give him all of it. I left a big portion for you. I hope you use it to save yourself from being unhappy with your job. Go back to college. Get a veterinary license. Open your own clinic or get a job at one. Do _something_. Your father is dead. You don't have to force yourself to make him proud anymore.

"I know you were only doing it to make one of us proud of you. At least, more proud than we were of Kiba. Your father _was_ proud of Kiba, but that was only because he was his son. What father isn't proud of his son? Just know that he always favored you over Kiba. You were the eldest, and you were more like he was when he was younger. So please…stop beating a dead horse. Quit trying to make yourself appear smarter. Kiba keeps telling me in his letters that you buy a new pair of glasses each week, that you do it so no one will question you in the office. I don't want that for you."

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and resting for a moment. There was a few words spoken between her and the one behind the camera, asking if she was done, her saying she wasn't, she was just taking a breather. Finally, she looked back at them.

"Along with the money, I left you most of my possessions. My jewelry, my old wedding dress, things like that. My old perfume. I stopped wearing it so there'd be enough for you to wear for a year at least. That should be enough to mourn me, right?" She gave a soft laugh. "You _better_ mourn me for quite some time, you two. I might just have to haunt you if I see you moving on so quickly…" She laughed again, her face falling. "I'm just kidding. The one thing I don't want for either of you is heart-ache, and I want you to get over this as fast as possible." Tears welled up in her eyes.

"I love you both so much. I'm sorry I couldn't see either of you fulfilled… I know your father was very upset he never got the chance to walk you down the aisle, Hana. And here I am, not getting the privilege of witnessing you married, either." She wiped away at the tears running down her cheeks. "I'm sorry I never got to see my big, strong man of a son grow up to move out on his own. Hana, you take good care of your brother. And Kiba, you make sure your sister doesn't get herself into any trouble. Keep her away from men you think aren't right for her." She chuckled, wiping the remainder of the tears from her eyes. "You do the same for Kiba, Hana. Keep him away from men _you_ don't think are right for him…"

She nodded her head at the camera. "Well, I feel I've spoken too much already. I wish I could say more, but if I speak any longer they'll have to whip out a second tape. Remember what I said. Everything has a purpose. Just because you can't see it right now, it doesn't mean it's not there. You have to look for it. After the funeral, I have another message for you two to listen to. I better get started on that one right now. I love you."

Tobitake looked over his desk at the two siblings as the tape clicked in the player and he turned the television off. Hana was in tears, her hand resting tenderly on her brother's arm…but he was just sitting there. He was staring at the television numbly, his lips twisted into some sort of half-sneer, half-pout. The only thing telling that he was upset was how shallow his breaths were.

The man cleared his throat, reaching over the desk, holding out some papers. "Now, as I'm sure you're aware of, Miss Inuzuka, there's plenty of legal work involved in this process. Taxes, transferring of money into other savings accounts, changing of the name on the deed to the house. If it's not so much trouble, we can complete all of this now. If you'd like to wait until after the funeral, you're free to do so."

She bit her lip a little, feeling it raw, until she found her voice. "We'd…" She sighed. "We'd like to wait…until after." She grabbed a tissue off his desk, dabbing at her eyes and letting out another sigh to calm herself down. "After the funeral, Mr. Tobitake."

–––––––––––––––––––––

He stowed himself in his room again when they reached home, and he stared at the pictures in his hand for the longest time. They were all from Hana's suite; he'd taken them from the photo album at the top of his closet. He sighed, fingers brushing over his mother's face in the photo.

He was around thirteen then; he had a jacket on, fur in the hood and fur on the sleeves and the trim at the bottom. He had all of his mother's gold jewelry dangling from his neck, her rings all over his fingers. She was holding him by the waist toward the camera, waving, smiling. He was leaned back into her, arms pulled over his chest, his fingers poking out and giving some sort of gang sign. He had a frown on his face, trying to look tough. His favorite hat was on his head, pulled backward.

"_Mom! Mom!" He shouted, running through the clothing store in the mall. "I found something I want! I found it! It's so cool!"_

_She turned to him, her face agitated, knowing it would be something she wasn't wanting to buy. Something expensive, something that wouldn't look right, something vulgar or overly-elaborate. She was surprised to see what they'd come in there for in his hands–a new jacket for his first day of school. It looked warm enough for the winter, which was a plus. She didn't know what she'd do if his fall jacket wasn't warm enough for winter and she had to go shopping again before he froze on the way to school. There was fur in the hood, fur in the sleeves, even a fur trim on the end of the jacket. It was smoky grey, the fur trim being a deep grey, nearly black._

"_That…That _is_ nice, Kiba. Does it fit?" He shrugged his shoulders, and she ruffled his hair. "Mommy's not buying that if it doesn't fit."_

_He groaned a little at the use of the word 'mommy'. "Mom…I'm not a kid anymore…"_

"_Exactly the reason why I need to see if it fits. You're growing, Kiba. I want to make sure you won't grow out of it by the end of the year!"_

_He took off the jacket he was wearing currently, turning around to mutter a curse as someone scooted by and knocked into him. His mother wheeled on the jerk, giving him an earful–making sure to use the f-word twice and the term ass in an extremely imaginative way. Kiba simply smiled, putting the new jacket on, musing on how much of a badass his mom was. All of his friends at school knew it, too. They were always going on about how they liked going to his house because his mom was so cool. They liked being able to try out all the words they'd been learning from the older kids–the words their own mothers would throw soap in their mouths for even thinking about repeating. _

_He put it on, making sure it fit right in the sleeves, not too big or falling over his fingers. It was a nice size; it went down a little bit past his crotch, and when he zipped up the coat he marveled at how it wasn't too tight. He could fit a small dog in there! He looked up at his mom, turning around in a circle. She stared at him, appraising how it fit. She grinned, grabbing the hood of the coat and pulling it over her son's head._

_It went down over his forehead, just barely falling front of his eyes. She giggled, crouching down and tying the hood tighter, the strings drawing up and fitting it snugly over him. "My son looks just like a little Eskimo!" He went red as she rubbed her nose against his, giving him a little Eskimo kiss. _

_He rubbed at the spot she'd made contact with disdainfully. "M-_Mom_…" He was surprised when his voice cracked. He gasped, covering his mouth. His mother just smiled at him warmly._

"_Looks like you're almost reaching that stage when you start taking an interest in girls, my little pup…"_

_He gagged, trying to push her off of him as she pulled him into a firm hug. "As if! That's gross! Girls are so icky! All they do is giggle and go on about their Barbie dolls and fingernail polish! If I walk in on another conversation about Bonnebelle chapstick again, I'm going to scream!"_

_She chuckled, ruffling his hair and pulling him back. She looked at the tag, her face turning sheet white. "K-K-Kiba! D-Don't you think this jacket is expensive!?"_

_Kiba stared at her for a moment before he remembered he hadn't looked at the price tag. He peered over at the tag in her hands, his mouth forming an 'O'. "A hundred and fifty bones!? You gotta be shittin' me! That's a rip-off! Mom, tell the owner of the store he doesn't know how to price clothes!"_

"_It's…It's not his choice, Kiba… This jacket is designer-made. The company who produces it decides on the price…"_

_He pouted, his eyes turning to the large amount of space between the neck and the chest, undoing the hood's strings and removing it from his head. "Ah man…and I was hoping I could carry around Kaede in my jacket…" He looked up at his mother, putting those puppy dog eyes to good use. His bottom lip quivered, his eyes staring deep into her, wrapping around her heart and seizing it in a tight death-grip. "…Please…"_

_She pointed her finger at him. "No." She grunted once. "That's the end of it Kiba." He just continued giving her that look, and she just couldn't look away. "Don't give me that look, boy." _

_He looked at her, bottom lip trembling, his voice soft. "What look…?"_

"_You know what look you're giving me! Enough with the puppy dog act, Kiba! I swear, if you don't stop this instant, I'll–"_

_His breath shuddered, and he looked down, hiding his amused eyes from her. He choked back a false sob, trying to say something and 'failing'. His mother's hands went immediately to the jacket, unbuttoning it in a flash and tucking it away over her elbow. She looked at him, eyes spiteful. "Just this once. But I _swear_, if you try to get your way using that look one more time, you're getting a talk with your father's belt. I'll be damned if I spoil my son like that… One of these days you'll have to move out on your own, you know." She nodded her head. "Hana's already looking around at a university with dorms. We have to concentrate on her education, not buying you nice things."_

_He nodded his head, trying to hide the grin on his face out of his voice. "Yes, ma'am."_

_He just looked up at her, that wicked grin on his face no longer even trying to hide itself in his voice. "Mommy…" He laid it on thick, making sure he earned a pleasantly surprised blush creeping over his mother's cheeks before he continued. "Sakon and Ukon just recently convinced their mom to buy them some new pogs… Could I get some, too?"_

_His mother smiled at him, patting him on the head affectionately. "Of course, you can, baby…"_

_He ignored the word baby, being in too good of a mood to that sour it. Oh yeah, his mom was a total badass. She was cool, and everyone at school knew it. She let them curse when his friends went over, and she yelled at punks who messed with her family, chewed people out when they didn't give her the proper respect she deserved. But his palm–besides Dad's, he knew–was the only one anyone could get her eating out of. His mom was _easy_. He had her wrapped around his finger._

_After a short moment, she leaned down, giving him a big hug and kissing the top of his head. She whispered into his ear as she pulled back. "Don't grow up too fast, my little pup. I want you around…"_

He stared at the picture in his hands, a knot forming in his throat, something like a lead ball settling at the bottom of his chest. He looked up and around, hearing the front door slam. He went into the living room, finding Hana traipsing down the steps. She got into the car Mom left behind, pulled out of the driveway, and drove away.

He sucked in a breath, a low growl rumbling up in his throat as something made its way to the surface, some emotion that he refused to let free. He'd never let them out in front of anyone. Not ever. He stormed back, past his room, past the bathroom, back to the guest room, to the master bedroom. He went to the closet, grabbing one of his mother's shirts and sniffed it. It smelled stale. He crinkled his nose, shoving it back in there as best as he could before he stormed to the kitchen, toward the door to the basement. He found the dryer down there, still filled with some clothes his mother hadn't had time to wash before she died. He grabbed one of the shirts, taking a whiff and screaming almost reflexively.

He grit his teeth, falling to the ground and curling up next to the dryer. It smelled of sweat and salt and plastic and peroxide, the stench of synthetic drugs and bleach, but it didn't smell like his mother at all. Just the hospital. He buried his face in his hands, shaking his head and practically screaming in frustration.

By the time Hana had come back, she walked in to find him in the living room staring at Jerry Springer on the television, his face numb as it normally was, all trace of anger gone. She went over to him, putting her arms around him and giving him a squeeze. He pushed her away, looking at the bag in her hands, but not at her. She wasn't the person he wanted to see right now. In fact, it was downright painful to look at her.

"What's in there."

She pulled out a small glass vial, flat at the bottom so it could stand on a counter. She removed the top, and the smell of borage filled his nostrils. There was something oddly fruity to it as well. "I got some of that perfume Mom always made…"

He looked at her bitterly, shaking his head. "That's not the right smell. Hers was more musky."

She sniffed it, frowning a little. "Mom's the only one that remembers exactly what's in it. I tried asking them, but they didn't keep a record of it. Not after she stopped coming in after Dad died, when she was supposed to get a new one." She nodded her head. "I gave them the original so they could reproduce it. We should get it back tomorrow with the correct perfume this time." She handed him the vial in her hand, but he just chunked it into the wall, the glass smashing and the stench of borage and something fruity rising up in the room, making it nearly impossible to smell anything else. Hana glared at him, hurrying to go clean it up before the dogs came in from outside and threw a fit. Even now she could hear Kuromaru in the other room sneeze, start barking something in German bitterly.

"That was rude, Kiba."

Kiba's voice broke again, and he looked up toward the ceiling. "I don't care. You got the perfume wrong. It didn't smell like Mom's at all."

She huffed, walking in there with numerous amounts of paper towels and a trashcan for the glass. "I know. But I'm wearing the original to the funeral."

He turned his eyes to her for a brief moment before he stood and stalked out of the room. "You wouldn't _dare_…"

Hana glared. "I'm doing this for you, Kiba. I'm doing _everything_ for you, god damn it! You're being downright selfish! The least you could do would be to do _something_! You've gone and closed yourself off! What did Mom tell us!? She wanted us to get over it as quick as possible. I'm _trying_, damn it! For her sake, try harder yourself! You're acting just as childish as when you came home after spending the night at Shino's!" She heard him shut the door behind him, his sour mood returning back to its normal numbness.

He just could care less about anything right now. He was fighting for a smell, something that would remind him of his mother, and Hana had gone and taken the only thing closest to it out of the house. That thought alone made him want to go in there and slap her right across the face. But he couldn't. The urge was barely even spiteful, barely strong at all. All he wanted to do right now was lie down and go to sleep.

He still couldn't believe his mother had known he was gay the very same night he and Sakon shared their first kiss.

––––––––––––––––––

Shino sighed, leaning against the car tiredly. They were at a rest stop, and the car was practically shaking, the audible growls of the dog inside clear as day out here. He licked at his ice cream cone, glancing over at the man beside him, who was almost done with his.

Juugo glanced over at him, seeing the question spoken in the shorter, younger man's eyes. He looked back up at the sky. "…After we finish these…"

Shino nodded, giving his cone a nice lick. The dog had been howling when they crossed the state line, instincts already in full swing, knowing where they were going. At the last rest stop Akamaru nearly darted off toward the highway. It had taken all of Juugo's strength to pull the leash back before the dog went running into the path of a semi. He was antsy; he wanted to go at his own pace, dash back to the town he was born, back to where his master was suffering without him.

He pointed to the sunglasses in Shino's coat pocket. "It's bright outside. I could barely keep my eyes open and focused on the road. You're driving next. It'd be wise to use those to your advantage."

Shino shook his head, tossing the cone of his ice cream onto the ground, not even finished with it–too much sugar always made him nauseous. He sighed, looking up at a cloud that looked exactly like a horse head. "Nah…I'll be fine."

The man finished off his ice cream cone, notorious for having a bit of a sweet tooth. He shrugged his shoulders, going over to the back of the van. "Whatever you say." He opened it, getting knocked over by Akamaru almost immediately. The dog dashed to a tree, did his business, before he ran past them again, nearly knocking Shino over. The rest stop was a big field, but there were quite a few other dogs with their owners around. Shino groaned.

To his surprise, however, Akamaru ran past all the others, past the bathrooms, even past the edge of a curb before it let out into the street. He groaned, looking over at Juugo. "Should we just let him go? Maybe he'll come back… He probably just–"

Juugo shook his head, putting his finger in his mouth and letting out a loud whistle. A few of the dogs in the park perked up, starting to bark. "That dog is on a mission, Shino. His instincts are stronger than ours. He doesn't need mapquest; all he needs is the knowledge of how his old home smelled, where it is. As long as he knows that, he'll find his way back with ease."

Shino stared at the street, until Akamaru's form was right back there, trotting over toward them. The dog went over, nudging at Juugo's hand a little. Shino sighed. "Kiba's whistle?"

Juugo shook his head. "The Inuzuka whistle. The family does it a certain way. Akamaru's heard it enough times he knows he needs to listen to whoever blew it. Hana was showing me after dinner once. Telling me about her dogs back home, how her parents had a way of training the dogs that was unique to other methods." He shrugged his shoulders, patting the dog's head. "He's calm now, but he'll be back to the way he was the second we cross the next state line."

He grabbed the leash out of the back, hooking it to Akamaru's collar and starting off toward the field. Shino slammed the door to the trunk and followed behind. After a short moment, Juugo stopped, bending down to Akamaru's hind foot.

He narrowed his eyes. "Hey. Up." Akamaru lifted his leg a little, and Shino walked closer and bent down. There were a few shards of glass stuck in the dog's paws, probably from some wreckage on the highway he hadn't been watching out for when he dashed out into the street.

He grit his teeth, looking at the orange-headed man. "Glass? I didn't even notice him limping."

Juugo sighed, sitting down and picking a few shards that weren't too deep. He groaned, looking over at Shino. "Could you get a bag in the back. It should be blue. It's a first aid kit. I didn't think I'd need to use it on the mutt, though." Akamaru gave him a dirty look, baring his teeth a little. Juugo just ignored it.

A few minutes later and Juugo had removed most of the glass, bandaging the dog as best as he could. Shino whistled. "You're pretty good at that. Must be all of that police training… Didn't think you'd apply it to animals so easily."

The ex-cop shrugged sheepishly and stowed Akamaru back in the car, not wanting him to walk on that foot for a while. "Actually…I took a few classes on animal anatomy in college." They both went to the front seat, getting in and buckling up. The shorter of the two started the car, interested.

He didn't say anything, but Juugo's eyes told him everything he needed to know. He smiled a little, pulling out of the rest stop and getting back onto the highway. After a brief moment of concentrating on merging, he glanced over at Juugo. "You and Hana go together really well…"

Juugo nodded his head, cheeks turning slightly pink. "Yeah…she actually wanted to be a veterinarian in college until she switched to a law major…" He sighed, resting his cheek against the glass of the window beside him. "I think that job fits her much better…but she transferred into a law major because she wanted something her father would be proud of… I don't really see why she'd be so upset about something like that. Just by looking at her, I can tell anyone would be proud to have her as a daughter."

"You know a lot about her."

"She tells me a lot about herself. She's always talking about her family, too. It's obvious how big her heart is. And it's not like she likes her job, either. She calls me up all the time to tell me how tolling it is on her nerves. Her most recent case involved a teenage boy who accidentally shot and killed a friend of his while they were messing around with his father's gun. The family of the boy who was shot filed a lawsuit, and she was really broken up about prosecuting for them. Every time she looked at the kid she was prosecuting against, she could see how guilty he was. It tore her up inside…"

Shino looked back at the road, nodding his head a little. "So……" He trailed off into silence, the question on his mind faltering before it reached his mouth. He bit his lip, shifting his focus back onto the road, where it belonged.

"Thank you, Shino."

He turned to the man, confusion printed clearly on his face. Juugo was nodding his head a little, refusing to look at him. "For the longest time after they left, I wondered whether I should do something about it. I knew she needs me, but I didn't know what to do about it."

He looked back at Akamaru, a smile creeping onto his face. He nodded his head yet again, looking out the window. "But I think I know, now. I was _so_ upset after she left, I could barely sleep, and I was so irritable at work. It wasn't the regular sort of irritability; it was more needy, desperate." He sighed. "I realized then that I needed her just as much as she needed me. I probably would've gone crazy waiting for her and wound up in prison again. Or something." He chuckled, feeling his chest tingle. "I could feel myself reaching the edge, about to snap. That's why I went home to Akamaru. While there I found the letter, and then you came in and suddenly your resolution stirred me to act, too. Thank you."

Shino stared at him for a brief second, turned back to the road. It continued like that for a while, a quick glance before he went back to the road. That look in Juugo's eyes was foreign to him, but he knew exactly what was on the other's mind, judging by that soft smile on his face.

He turned back to the road for good this time, a smile finding its way to his lips. "Well then, I hope you bought the ring before we left."

The older man smiled. "No need. She has her great grandmother's engagement ring. Passed down on her mother's side of the family. I picked that up before we left. She keeps it in a box behind her radio."


	17. Give Me a Break!

_Um…hmm… My outline for the house of theirs is the outline of my Grandparents's house. My Grandmother recently sold it, since she's getting too senile to live on her own anymore, so I'm really going to miss going down there. All of the memories, gone. I can't go back and relive them. So I figured I'd relive them in the story. At least with the outline of the house._

_My Grandparents had a farm right in front of a highway. Now, I already mentioned that Kuromaru barks obscenities to young girls on their tricycles in one of the earlier chapters, so it being right against a highway is unheard of. Oh well. They also didn't have a bunch of kennels in the back or a pond nearly as big as the one I'm imagining for the Inuzuka place._

_This chapter gave me the most trouble of all. Should I go ahead with the funeral or should I stall some more? Hmmm… I finally decided against stalling. Because I have nothing to stall it with. Unless I bring out…_

_A STORY WITH TENTEN AND SAKURA! (And Shikamaru and Chouji.)  
_

_Surprise! It takes place on Friday. As in, the same day that Kiba and Hana went to the law office and Shino found out Juugo was good with animals and that he was planning on proposing to Hana when he got down there._

_-wry smile- Pervs. What did all of you think was behind her radio? _

_Why am I writing this chapter on such a random, off-topic note? Because it's important, damn it._

_Um…I got really confused with the days. And I'm still organizing them in my head._

_**Monday**: the strip club; Kiba winds up staying over at Shino's house and totally dreams about bumping uglies with him. Shino throws up immediately after that kiss.  
**Tuesday**: Kiba goes home, finds out the news. Shino didn't go to work. Hana lets him know what happened. He agrees to go over and discuss things with her regarding house sitting Akamaru. He throws up at the sight of Kiba.  
**Wednesday**: He shows up late to work. In the afternoon he goes to see them off. He doesn't throw up, though he probably does when he gets home after that brutal attack by Deidara. Kiba and Hana arrive late in the evening.  
**Thursday**: Shino shows up late to work. He blows up at everything that moves or mentions Kiba to him, minus Sakura. He just throws up after his conversation with her, which is like blowing up only in a very different way, I guess. He leaves that night. The siblings clean up around the house, get the dogs accustomed to their presence and smell again, throw out all the old nasty crap in the fridge and go buy new stuff to eat without regretting it later._

_Okay, so that makes sense. I got Kiba and Hana's side of the story all mixed up with what was going on back at the office. They arrived there Wednesday night, tired. They spent all Thursday cleaning up the house and buying groceries. (Hana does, anyway.)_

_So yes. It takes place on Friday. I decided it'd be in bad taste to bring a story with a good dose of comedy into a dry period filled with nothing but angst. Thus, this break attempts to lighten the mood a bit. Plus, I felt I needed to let all of you know Chouji and Neji weren't fired and that things weren't completely hopeless back at the office after Shino opened his big mouth.  
_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 17_

Sakura peered over her cubicle, a soft smile forming on her lips. So. Shino had finally decided to go after his friend. That was great. She sighed, going back to her computer desk. Of course…that meant most likely he'd relinquish his job when the man convinced him to come back. There was nothing personal in the cubicle before, so it had been easy to adjust. Judging by all of the talk yesterday, it seemed the only people who knew Kiba wasn't coming back were herself, Jiraiya, and possibly Shino… Judging by how upset he got when Neji had said all those things, that seemed highly likely.

Well, she'd fulfill her end of the bargain, then. As much as she was shaking in her boots, his words had calmed her down more than before. Before she was just so angry to go talk to her, so angry that TenTen would dare say all of those things to her. She was most angry of all because when she got that response printed in the magazine, she'd assumed TenTen had realized it was hers and printed it in response. But…it appeared she hadn't realized a thing.

That made things easier. Her anger from thinking her friend had just lured her back just to cut her down had dissipated, and now she felt like she could speak to the woman freely, without her pimp hand threatening to interfere.

"Miss Haruno…"

She looked up to see Shikamaru looking at her, a document in his hand. She glanced at it, sighing a little with disgust. "Mr. Nara, you're going to have to do your own work. Your pack mule is no longer here to carry your things."

He smiled lightly, his eyes darting over her person instead. She just groaned. _'Oh great,' _she thought to herself, her inner voice screaming in repulsion–hair long enough to be pulled back in a ponytail? hell no! _'Another pervert.'_

"I was wondering if that was your natural hair colour. It seems pretty…odd."

She sighed, tugging on her hair to show off her roots. "Platinum blonde, Mr. Nara. Just like Ms. Yamanaka in the front office. Is that all…?" She brushed the hair out of her face, tapping her finger on the desk irritably. She eyed the document in his hands, tossing her head toward it when he just narrowed his eyes observantly. When he never said anything, she could feel herself ripping her hair out. At least, that was what was running through her head. Instead, she simply smiled at him peacefully.

His eyes widened in realization. "Of course! Now I know why you look so familiar." He nodded his head, pointing toward her. "I didn't recognize you because of the pink hair, but that cold tone in your voice is really telling. You were Scarlett O'Hara in a small-theatre production of "Gone with the Wind", weren't you?"

Her cheeks flared, and her smile widened. She twisted at her hair a little, surprised someone recognized her. Surprised…and extremely flattered. "Wh-Why yes! I was! I actually wore wigs when I was performing… I can't believe you recognized me! You…just don't seem like the theatre type…" He just gave her a friendly smile, and she stood. "But…I need to go speak with Miss TenTen. If you don't mind. Leave the document on my desk if you wish, Mr…?"

He nodded his head, raising his eyebrows. "Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru! Yes. Just…leave that document on my desk and I'll have it done by five…"

She traipsed out of the office, a spring in her step, her face as pink as her hair. Chouji cleared his throat as Shikamaru deposited the document on her desk, his face as pink as hers. He spun around, toward Chouji, shrugging his shoulders and giving the man a sheepish smile.

Chouji stared him over, as if his eyes could see right through him. His voice lowered. "Shikamaruuu…I _asked_ you to see that play with me and you refused… You're only going off of what I told you yesterday when _I_ recognized her…" He crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head sadly in the smaller man's direction. "And to think…she thought you were genuine. Shame, Shame, Shika. Buttering her up so she'd do that work for you…"

Shikamaru just shrugged his shoulders, a devilish grin on his face. "Why? It worked. _And_ just look at how happy she was! We both made a _trade_."

"Go apologize to her right now and tell her she doesn't have to do your work, you ass."

"Hell no! Did you see what happened to Ino's face!? Like hell I'm making _her_ angry at me!"

Chouji sighed, working up tears in his eyes. "I'm just so upset that Neji found out about Hinata… I mean…what…what if he convinces her to give up on me? What if he lies about me to her? I just…" He gave a big sigh. "I'm……_hungry_." He turned to Shikamaru, eyes glowering menacingly, voice low and threatening.

The smaller man grumbled. "Alright, you big baby. Just quit using that ploy. It's so _aggravating_… You even used that on me when you wanted to watch your stupid OC reruns last night! I missed a perfectly good CSI episode because of you!" Someone across the aisle mentioned something about that episode being a rerun, too, and he glared. "Whatever. Just quit doing that eating thing to get me to do what you want me to do!"

As he stormed off down the hall, Chouji waved at him pleasantly. "I'll stop doing it when it stops working."

––––––––––––––––––

She strode into the office, eyes darting immediately to the woman at the desk, her hair pulled back tightly. She stood at the door, waiting for the woman to notice her. After what felt like forever, TenTen finally looked over, eyes wide.

"S-Sakura! Um…wh-what…what are you doing here??"

She bowed her head, looking her straight in the eye when she came up. "I'm terribly sorry for my behavior. I know I should have been a bit more considerate over your feelings for Rock Lee. I just…I just thought that when you posted the response to my letter that you knew it was me…so when I arrived and you were nothing but mean to me I got sort of out of control…"

TenTen frowned. "No, I…I really should be the one to apologize for the way I was acting. I mean, I realize now that that thing over Rock Lee was absolutely ridiculous." She chuckled. "I'm glad you managed to calm down and talk to me. I heard you were temping for Kiba, and was afraid of going down there to see you… I thought you'd yell at me…"

Sakura chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "Sorry I have such a short temper, TenTen… It actually went away when Shino told me you'd probably be more willing to talk to me. He seemed like he wanted to help us out, to try and get our friendship back on track…"

Her face went pale. "Sh-Shino told you…?"

"I think he knew you needed someone to support you after the break-up…"

She bit her lip hesitantly. "His concern for my well-being doesn't help me get over him at all…" She sighed, fighting to keep herself from breaking down right there. She looked back at her, giving her a strange look. "How did you know me and Shino broke up?"

"Haku told me." She nodded her head a little as TenTen muttered a quiet thanks to her other means of support. Haku was a lot like Shino when it came to looking out for her. Sakura cleared her throat. "Look, you shouldn't be so worked up over Shino. Surely you heard about the way he was acting down in the men's division…? The way he kept getting so ticked off about Kiba… It really seemed he was…" She waved her hand, her voice lowering, quieting. "…in denial."

TenTen stared at her for a moment before a look of realization crossed over her face. "Well…then that makes _perfect_ sense! He was so unwilling to sleep with me, and then he turns back around and tries to act all friendly… I _knew_ there had to be a reason he never really _tried_ to be romantic with me at all!"

Sakura's face brightened. "See! One of these days, a guy's going to walk into your life and he's going to be just as witty and polite and concerned about you as Shino was, only this one will be genuinely interested in you!"

"Oi, Miss Haruno."

She turned around, her eye twitching at the sight of Shikamaru walking up, his hand in the air. "Do you _mind_, Mr. Nara? I'm having a private conversation with TenTen."

Shikamaru glanced into the room, spotting TenTen staring at him like he'd just fucked up real bad, and he nodded his head, _really_ eager to get this out of the way. Make the pain a little less prolonged. "Yeah, I can see that. About that document you offered to do for me…"

"It's going to have to _wait_, Mr. Nara." She turned back to TenTen, exchanging an eye roll with her re-friend. "As I was saying… He's going to be intelligent and funny and a little bit of a tease, and you're just going to _love_ him. And he's going to love _you_, and it will be a match made in heaven and you'll never have to think about Rock Lee or Shino…"

"Or Neji." TenTen piped up.

Shikamaru's jaw dropped in time with Sakura. But it was him who shouted. "Neji!? What the _fuck_ were you doing with _that_ asshole!? He's a complete sleaze! That shit knows go-go dancer moves! He did a strip tease on a stage at a strip club we went to!"

Both of the women turned to him, giving him extremely horrified looks, and TenTen put her hands over her hips. "For your information, Neji asked me out for a drink when I first got a job here, and when I agreed, he spent the rest of the night dancing on the dance floor with random strangers instead of me. I don't think this is your conversation, _Mr. Nara_, nor do either of us want to hear about your adventures at a strip club."

Sakura shot him a look that clearly said 'get lost', before she turned back to TenTen, her voice more strained. "He's going to be twice as passionate at Shino, and he's going to care about you so much, you won't even remember why you were interested in any of the previous guys!" She smiled at TenTen playfully. "And you better hope he's going to be just as picky of an eater as you, Ten."

"I lied about knowing who you were so you'd do my work for me."

Sakura turned around, _that_ being the last straw. She clocked him in the chest, nearly sending him through the wall. "Didn't your mother ever teach you it was impolite to interrupt a conversation, dickface!? And how _dare_ you do something like lie to me to get me to do _your_ work! You should be ashamed of yourself for messing with a woman's heart like that, you son of a bitch!"

He smacked against the wall, falling to the ground and looking up weakly just in time to see TenTen give the pink-haired Amazon a high five, the two of them bursting into giggles. Okay…so maybe Amazon was stretching it. She had the strength and the no-nonsense attitude when it came to men, but not the height or the hips…or the cleavage. He got up, rubbing his chest a little in pain and popping his jaw back in place. He didn't know it managed to get dislocated, but it probably had to do with how he hit the ground. All he knew was that it hurt like a bitch. But he refused to give in. He walked over, refusing to end this on a terrible note with TenTen watching.

"I'm terribly sorry that I did that. Actually, Chouji saw your play and recognized you, and he told me yesterday. So you were still recognized, just not by me. You can thank my friend for that. Though, as an apology I would like to buy you lunch. There's a _really_ nice sandwich shop called the Baked Alaska downtown. They have really great desserts, too, and if you wanted, I could even buy you a dessert afterwards."

Sakura and TenTen both gave him scrutinizing looks, before Sakura smiled. "Alright. That sounds like a fair deal. I get out of doing your work, I get to punch you in the chest, I get the recognition I deserve, and I get a free lunch and dessert out of it." She turned to TenTen, pursing her lips together, eyes playful. "Oh yeah, this one's a _keeper_, Ten."

The girls burst out laughing, and Shikamaru grumbled. "I'll meet you at your cubicle with Chouji and we can head out around lunch." He paused at the door a little bit, staring at TenTen laugh. His cheeks went as pink as Sakura's hair again, and he wandered back to his cubicle in a stupor.

It was a pity Sakura was around her. He couldn't even get close.

––––––––––––––––––

That bitch was teasing him. There was no way around it. She must've figured something out. That was why she demanded TenTen go along with them. That was the _only_ reason he could see, other than the obvious–wanting to catch up for old time's sake.

Which was exactly what they were doing.

Sakura chuckled. "I _do_ believe I'm the only girl in school who wound up taking up kick-boxing as an out-of-school activity. Sure TenTen had her taijutsu, but it just wasn't satisfying enough for me, you know?" She looked at Chouji, her hand tossing itself into the air. "I met TenTen in taijutsu. It wasn't satisfying enough for me, like I said earlier. I was taking it for anger management, because I didn't know how to control myself. Well, sometime around high school I took up kick-boxing with some place that opened up _right_ across from the dojo. It was _exactly _what I needed to vent my frustration. With taijutsu there was all of this inner balance and shit, but it just wasn't… I can't even _describe_ it! All I know was that the second I took up kick-boxing, I found my center and all of a sudden I just stopped getting so angry all the time! My mother says it's because I finally exhausted all of my anger's resources, and I think I believe that now… Of course, what developed instead was an inner voice that gets angry for me, but I think it's quite entertaining at times."

TenTen chuckled, and Sakura nudged her a little, turning to Shikamaru and Chouji. "Is she always this closed off at the office, or is it just because you two are here?" She looked directly at Shikamaru, her eyes amused.

Chouji smiled politely. "If _only_ she were like this more often. Usually we can't even get her out of the office. Most of the time she's so stressed we have to end the dinners early. We got her to go out with us once, and that's because Shino asked. The entire time she looked absolutely terrified to be out in public." He nudged his friend, who was abnormally quiet. "Isn't that right, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru just nodded, and Chouji's cheeks went red. He laughed. "You scare him, Sakura. I can tell. You act just like his mother, so I can see why he'd be scared…"

Sakura grinned at him evilly, reaching over and putting her hand on top of his head. "Is that right, my little Shika? Do I _scare_ you?"

Shikamaru sighed. "As a matter of fact, Miss Haruno, you're ten times as terrifying as my mother at the moment. You are acting like a complete _lunatic_ right now. Totally not as calm and collected as you were at the office…"

Sakura went silent for a moment, clearing her throat and withdrawing her hand from his head. She chuckled a little, giving TenTen a little hug around the shoulders. "You're right, Mr. Nara. I think I lost control there for a second. Don't tell anybody. I'm just super-excited that me and TenTen are friends again." She looked down at the third parfait set out in front of her. "…The sugar might have something to do with it as well…"

Beside her, TenTen stared down at her plate, trembling just slightly. Sakura looked over, seeing her getting upset at the memory of that dinner with Shino, and she stood. "TenTen, why don't we go powder our noses?" When the brunette stood up, the two left the table, going toward the bathroom. "Please excuse us, boys…"

The second they were gone, Shikamaru turned to Chouji, voice completely bitter. "She was _laughing_ back at the office, Chou! Why isn't she doing that _now_?? You just had to bring up Shino again, didn't you??"

Chouji stuttered. "B-But… I forgot how she gets…"

"Well, you seemed to forget about how a woman's heart can cling to even the smallest relationship, then! Do not forget Hinata is still pining after you as much as _you_ are over her!"

"P-Pining?? I'm not…I'm not _pining_, Shikamaru… You got it all wrong…"

"Oh?" He said, a shit-eating grin making its way to his face. "So I assume you the reason why you weren't retaliating in that fight with Neji is _not_ because he'd told you she still loved you and you were too happy to even realize what was going on? Chou, you have at least twelve bruises all over your torso that you don't even remember getting! And it's not because you were unconscious, it's because you weren't paying attention to him slamming you around the office! You broke the copier again, for crying out loud! Smashed it to pieces this time! What did you say when you walked into work this morning? 'What the _hell_ happened to the copier?! It looks like it got crushed by a boulder!' Jesus, Chou. You are _pining_, and the more you deny it, the more Shino winds up being right about us."

"I'm just…going through a period of withdrawals…"

Shikamaru grinned, trying to stifle a laugh. "Withdrawals my _ass_! You were at the titty club stalking the woman who looked like Hinata! _Stalking_ her, Chou! You even followed her out to her car and offered to open the door open for her! She threatened to file a restraining order!" He got that out of his system, his voice lowering, his demeanor turning more serious.

"Withdrawals my _ass_… You're just as in love Hinata as you were when you ran into her on the sidewalk and she offered to buy you a new hot dog. You're just as in love with her when you copped your first feel after accidentally knocking into her on the train to go see that one Broadway musical she'd been dying to see. You're just as in love with her when you took her to that really nice restaurant and proposed before falling over and nearly landing on top of her in the process, damn it."

Sakura sat down at that moment, looking at them, interested. "What's this I hear about a proposal? This doesn't have anything to do with that fight with Chouji and Mr. Hyuuga, does it? The one with Hinata?"

Shikamaru nodded. "She's his ex-fiancée. It's sort of a star-crossed thing. Her father doesn't approve, and now she's dating someone else, the engagement broken off… He's been pining after her ever since."

Sakura's eyes rose. "I've never known a _man_ to _pine_. The way it sounds, you should just move on. There's no use _pining_ for something that will never happen…"

Shikamaru stood, suddenly extremely angry. "You obviously don't understand the ways of a man's heart then, Miss Haruno. Men are just as capable of pining as women. They are _just_ as romantically inclined. I'll have you know Chouji actually went to her house and delivered a bouquet of roses on her balcony for her to find when she woke up in the morning. I'll never know how he did it after he broke the ladder, but he did it, and he's probably the most romantic person at this table, damn it!"

Sakura looked at him coolly, her voice never cracking, her tone never changing. "Tell me, Mr. Nara… Are _you_ as romantically inclined as your friend?" She smiled at him. "Are _you_ pining for a special lady?"

His eyes widened. She was…_acting_? This entire time with them had been an _act_. The sudden change in personality, the way she went on and on about the things she and TenTen shared before they split apart for a while… All of it was one big act set out to make TenTen come out of her shell, and to make him admit _everything_ about his feelings for her. But this…this _question_ was the real her. The over-exuberance was not, the sudden insecurity at being too loud was not… Hell, she probably didn't even have that big of a sweet tooth. The only times she'd been real had been the moment when she saw TenTen start to grow anxious and this one right now.

He refused to give her the satisfaction of falling right into that act and move right where she wanted him.

For a split second his eyes darted toward TenTen quickly, noticing her looking at Sakura wearily, before he stuttered, losing himself. "A-As…As a matter of fact I _have_, Miss Haruno. I have pining for her since she came in for an interview with Jiraiya, when I walked by her at the front desk." He sat back down in his chair, his voice more confident. "I'm not ashamed. For four days after that interview I waited anxiously to see if she'd get that job, and when she did I actually went out and celebrated." He went back to his turkey sandwich, handing off the turkey to Chouji like he always did. "I've been _pining_ for nearly a year now." He muttered, bitterly.

Sakura cooed. "And what would this lovely lady's name be, Mr. Nara?"

"I don't think that's any of your business."

That's when Neji walked in. He spied Chouji, making his way over there, a smug smile on his face. "Well…" He said, cracking his knuckles. "It took some work, but I managed to convince Hinata you had moved on and could care less about her. The wedding is in two months."

Chouji looked up at Neji, his face turning sheet white, his jaw dropping. "…W-We-Wed-Wedding…?"

Neji nodded his head. "Yes. She's agreed to marry Naruto."

Something happened no one expected. TenTen stood, slapping him hard across the face, her voice menacing. "Oh, you fuckface, Neji! How the _fuck_ could you do something so cruel!?"

He went back a bit, his face completely amazed, before he looked back at her to make sure what he thought had happened actually did. His jaw dropped. "T-TenTen! What the hell!? How could you hit _me_?? We're like…best friends! You're always coming over to my desk and getting me to do favors with you! I even took you out for a drink once!"

Her eyes narrowed, becoming slits. "The only best friends I have are Haku and Sakura, and I'll admit that drink with you was probably one of the most humiliating experiences of my life!! How could you _possibly_ do something so incredibly heartless as make Hinata think Chouji had given up on her!? You _know_ that's not true!"

Neji clenched his fist, his knuckle cracking, fighting to restrain himself from hitting her back. "It was not a match that would work, TenTen. He wasn't right for her. Uncle Hiashi knew she needed someone more fitting to marry. Someone more _proper_. Not just some country bumpkin from back west!"

TenTen's fists clenched, and she _punched_ him in the face this time. "Status isn't everything, you asshole! They really love each other! So what if her father didn't approve!? It wasn't your call to make!! This isn't even about your cousin, is it!? It's just about spiting Chouji!"

He wheeled back, his fist clenched, unable to control his urge any longer. As he recovered, he reached out, grabbing for that annoying bun in her hair.

Shikamaru slugged him square in the jaw. One hit; he was down for the count. He looked over at his best friend, jaw locked. "I'm going to make this right, Chou. I'll be _damned_ if I let an asshole like that mess with anything you care about."

Chouji nodded his head shakily, looking down at his food and biting his lip to keep himself from bursting into tears. He buried his face in his hands, blubbering. "Shino was right, Shikamaru… We're both cowards… Back before I proposed I did all of those things for her…I'd leave her gifts on her balcony, not even caring if her father found out… I even asked her younger sister to help at one point, and I didn't even care if she let her father know about us. I kept telling Hinata to tell her father… But the second she tells her father about us and he refuses to let her marry me, I go running into a hole and crying… I'm a coward. Shino was right. I'm not even brave enough to go over there myself and convince her father I'm worthy…"

Shikamaru grabbed his arm, helping him up. "The only coward here is _me_, Chouji. You at least had the stones to do what you did. I haven't even asked her out yet, despite all the chances you've been trying to work in for me…"

He turned to the women. "I think it'd be best if we left before he came to." He nodded toward the bubblegum-topped woman still sitting in her seat.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Miss Sakura. I hope you enjoyed your meal. Those are some fine acting skills you have. It's a shame a talent scout wasn't here to see you perform."

He walked out of the building, patting Chouji on the back as he cried, ignoring the looks a couple gave them as he left.

"Sh-Shikamaru! Wait!"

He looked over his shoulder, at the woman dashing out the door behind him. Her smile was bright, and her cheeks were flushed pink. She was digging around in her purse for a piece of paper and a pen. She scribbled something down on the piece she found and dashed over toward them.

"You are _amazing_… I know it's not my place, but I really feel like you should have her number…"

His face fell, and he swore, grabbing the paper and ripping it in half. He then tore the half into another half, grabbing the pen from her hand and scribbling his number down on both halves. He handed them to her, ripping up the paper she'd given him–the one with the phone number on it. "There. That's _my_ number. One for each of you _lovely_ _ladies_."

She gasped, staring as the pieces fell to the ground. "Wh…Why did you do that? You and Sakura are so well together…"

"She's much too troublesome, TenTen. I don't want _her_ number. It would just waste space on my cell phone, anyway."

"Well…you say the same thing about Kiba, and you still manage to invite _him_ everywhere. And apparently you invited Neji to a strip club, yet it's obvious you find _him_ troublesome." She started sounding irritated; Shikamaru was eating that up. Her–irritated. Her–_anything_. He was eating up every minute that passed.

Chouji, quiet since his outburst, held his hand in the air. His voice was a bit shaky. "E-Everyone's troublesome to Shikamaru. It's all a matter of which trouble he likes getting into…"

She looked from Chouji to Shikamaru, her face blank, until she chuckled. She pushed on the smaller man a little, laughing. "You two make such a _weird_ pair, do you know that? But for some reason it just seems so…obvious. I think both of you are very brave, regardless of what Shino said to either of you. We better all get back to the office. I'll see you on Monday, hopefully?"

The pair nodded their heads, Shikamaru's a little more fervently than the big guy's.

She smiled, walking back to the shop backwards, staring at them all the while, that smile never leaving her face. "Thank you… I really needed to be cheered up." She turned, cheeks flushing, and walked back inside, back to Sakura, who was waving at them pleasantly, head still against the glass boredly. As if she knew they would still be there without even looking.

Chouji looked over at Shikamaru, his chest warming. "…Things are going to be okay…aren't they?"

Shikamaru just stared at the brunette through the window, his voice listless, as if in a trance. "…Yeah…"

"Hinata's going to realize I love her and come running back to me, isn't she?"

"…Yeah…"

"……Damn it, Shikamaru. …Shino and Kiba are going to come back from wherever they are and totally be making out in the break room the next time we see them."

"…Yeah…"

"You've only got one testicle. And your ejaculations come out yellow."

"…Yeah…"

The bigger man sighed. "Yep. It's official. You're picturing TenTen in her panties. Again."

"…Yea– Ah, shit! I _was_ doing that again, wasn't I!?" He snapped out of it, looking over at Chouji pitifully.

Chouji rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I was about to back you up when Sakura asked you if you were just as romantic as me… You're such a _pervert_."

They both started to walk off, and Shikamaru snorted, leaning over and whispering into his best friend's ear. "Yeah, don't think I didn't see a pair of Hinata's panties hiding underneath your pillow."

Chouji went red. "I didn't steal those, if that's what you think… She just left them out on the balcony when I went to deliver another bouquet the week before I proposed."

"Suuure she did. She _totally_ seems like the type to be that bold…"

"No! She really did! I swear! They were just set out on the balcony…w-with a little note on them that said she felt I needed something in return!"

"Oh. Well…if that's the case…what does that say about _you_? You proposed to her the week after you received those. I suppose you couldn't hold it in any longer?"

Chouji went red. "I'm…I'm not talking about this with you. _I'm_ not the one that hasn't even asked the girl I like out yet. Even after she ran up and called you _amazing_. Honestly, Shikamaru? What the _hell_ is stopping you?"

"She's vegan. What can I say? She's just not interested enough in meat. Yet. I'm sure the more we interact, the more interested she'll be. It's all a matter of waiting for her to come to me."

Chouji started to say something to that, until his breath caught in his throat and he squeaked. That innuendo refused to leave his head, and he was worried it never would. "Oh, what the _hell_, Shikamaru!? That's just nasty! I didn't need to hear another of your sexual innuendoes! You _know_ my mind has to picture things before I understand them completely!"

"I'm well aware…" Shikamaru smiled, his mind starting to wander again. He just couldn't get that image out of his head–TenTen was laughing, _laughing_! He'd gotten her to laugh! And she was so incredibly adorable when she laughed! Her hand over her mouth, her cheeks turning pink, and that _sound_! It was the cutest thing he'd ever _heard_!

"You're such a _dick_, Shikamaru!"

"…Yeah…"

* * *

_Anyone notice Sakura's title of Ms. for Ino? Yeah. You didn't read that wrong. Ino was married before she dated Shino. Just felt it fit her personality. Her having been married at one point and not anymore._


	18. The Funeral pt3

_Wow. After I wrote all of that about Sakon in the chapter with Kiba's Mom being all "mother knows" toward him, I felt it'd be best to explain all of this. Considering the fact that Sakon and Ukon are actually the people Kiba fights in the show. I want to at least make some similarities in the show, like with Itachi and Sasuke's sharingan and the DeiIta rivalry, along with Sasuke trying to beat his brother, TenTen's taijutsu and Sakura's incredible strength, and Rock Lee's unhealthy attachment to Sakura. Thus, this chapter is going to explain it._

_The whole basis of this is actually inspired by a song by Phantom Planet. (Did you know all of the members of that band actually prefer men over women? It's great.)_

_The song is titled Geronimo. Hmmm…I want to put lyrics. The chapter includes stronger mentions of sex than the previous chapters. Because of it, I might to move this story to mature. Despite the fact that I have yet to mention the dreaded p-word.  
_

_This is just a portion of the lyrics. The rest sort of just repeat._

"_Just one touch  
That's enough  
And it's like pushing comes to shove  
I think you like this way too much  
I think you're way fucked up_

_Four hands fight  
Two hands tied  
One wrong never felt so right  
You don't want to make me blush  
You want me unconscious_

_I scream bloody murder  
Why don't you call me something dirtier?  
Never thought this harmless crush  
Could be so dangerous_

_Trading looks  
Back and forth  
You just make me want it more  
I know soon we'll be trading blows  
Getting on all fours and tearing off clothes_

_I can't believe this is happening  
You knock the wind right out of me  
You don't want to make me blush  
You want me unconscious"_

_I know? Crazy, right? I really liked that song and everything, and then I realized what the lyrics were and I was just like, "OH MY GOD!" Nothing like a little S&M, eh? Ha ha. Nice, Kiba. NICE. I'll bet it runs in the family._

_By the way, I made Kiba's mom a punk rocker back in the day. The significance of "53__rd__ & 3__rd"__ being her favorite song is that in New York, 53__rd__ & 3__rd__ was an intersection where you could pick up male hookers. At least, back when it was written. I don't know about now. The song has fairly strong homosexual undertones to it. Kiba doesn't listen to punk rock, so that blew right over him when she mentioned it. _

_Um…I'm sorry if it sounds like Kiba was like…abused. He wasn't. He enjoyed it at the time. It's just he started to grow weary of it after a while. By the way…I made him and the Orochimaru's cronies all the same age. I think Sakon and Ukon were supposed to be older than him by a few years or something, but I made them all the same age._

_I went back and was reading some earlier chapters, and there's a lot of things that make his relationship with Sakon that much more meaningful and telling in why he likes Shino so much. For instance, there's a parallel with Suigetsu. When he's spending the night and Karin calls, and Suigetsu gets all pissed off and starts talking about how Shino was his friend for three years before he came around and told him it was all jackshit. I'm sure Kiba felt something intense after that. You'll understand after you read this._

_Just so you know. Shino's not the only one who dated a psycho._

_I'm sorry if all of the S&M is really bad. I'm really not into that, so I tried my best. I'm way too nice to even come up with shit like that. I hope it's still a little bit believable._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 18_

Saturday morning came. Kiba walked out of his room. After Hana had moved out, they'd removed her bed and everything. Now, she was sleeping in the master bedroom. He shuffled into the kitchen, surprised to see it was nearly noon.

Hana was just sliding on her shoes, pulling the purse over her shoulder. She looked up at him. "Oh, Kiba. Be good while I'm gone, will you? I have to go pick up the perfume. They said they'd be done around this time, so…" She trailed off, standing up straight and looking him over.

His hair was a mess–he hadn't bothered to brush it in four days–, he had a trace amount of stubble beginning to form around his chin, his eyes were bloodshot, since he's barely slept a wink since Tuesday, and he was still wearing the clothes he'd come in with Wednesday night.

She sighed, walking over and rubbing his chin, holding his cheeks and looking into his eyes. "Kiba…you look like you got hit by a train… Please clean up while I'm out… Mr. Tobitake was looking at you like you were a homeless person…" He just looked away, his eyes turning to the floor dumbly. She ruffled his hair, planting a tender kiss on his forehead.

"This afternoon I'm going to take you to get a hair cut and a shave. I'm not going to let you walk up to Mom's casket looking like this… She'd be so ashamed… If you're not washed by the time I get back, you can bet your ass I'm giving you a good bath. I _will_ get the metal basin out of the kennel and wash you like a dog, boy."

He just pushed her away, trailing over toward the sink to get a glass of water. "Don't call me boy…" As he grabbed himself a glass out of the cupboard, something stirred in him, and he turned around. "Wait…it's going to be an_ open_ casket?"

Hana nodded, walking starting toward the living room. "Yes. Mom requested it. She requested there to not be a wake. Instead she wanted to cut that out and just have an open-casket funeral. You were there with me when we made the arrangements, remember? You even agreed to it."

Kiba shook his head, turning the faucet and filling the glass with water. He took a big swig, making a face. "The lake turned…"

"Kiba…"

He turned to her, sounding a bit agitated. "Yeah? I'm still listening, you know…"

"Remember what I said. Bath. Clean yourself up or I will."

"Yeah, yeah. Just…go."

She pursed her lips at him, more than a little pissed off. But she still managed to turn before screaming, walking off to the front door and out to the car. She drove off, and he tossed the glass into the sink. He knew it was around here somewhere.

He bent down, opening the doors to the area underneath the sink. There were cleaning supplies, lots of them. Way in the back, he spotted something deep amber in colour. He grabbed for it, whipping out one of the bottles of whiskey his father had stashed around the house after Mom had forced him to break the habit.

As much as he wanted to down the entire thing, he knew he couldn't since Hana would be back. If she knew he was doing this, she'd never let him out of her sight. He retreated to his room, taking a spot on his bed, opening the bottle.

_Tap, Tap, Tap._

His eyes went to the window, his head turning upon seeing that bleached-white shoulder length hair. His eyes widened, and he had to fight to keep himself from hyperventilating. He closed the bottle off quickly, staring straight at him.

The man at the window waved pleasantly, tapping on it again when he didn't move. Finally, after a long, long while, his eyes narrowed. "Hey!" He was shouting, knowing the windows were a bit thick. "I know we had some bad times in the past, but I'm sorry I nearly killed your dog, Kiba! Just let me in so I can catch up with you!"

He gulped, going to the window and opening it. The man climbed in, smiling smugly. "Man. The last time we snuck in here, it was way back in high school, right? You also still had your sister's bed in here."

Kiba's voice was cold. "Ukon," was all he said. He looked behind the man, dreading to see another behind him. He took a sigh of relief when he saw no one.

The man smiled, cricking his neck a little. "Kiba," he replied timidly. Kiba remembered this punk well. Sakon and Ukon had been his best friends during childhood, and they were always going over to his house and playing around in the background. Sakon was the one with problems. Sakon looked all sweet and innocent, but on the inside he was pitch black. Ukon, on the other hand, dressed more like some kind of punk, looking like a real dick, despite the fact that he had a big enough heart for both of them. Kiba never got over the fact that it should've been the other way around–their appearance, that is. Ukon even smeared black lipstick on his lips. It looked like he'd grown out of _that_ phase.

Ukon took a spot on his bed, eyeing the whiskey. "I see you're upset over your Mom, huh?"

Kiba stared at him, staying at the window, paralyzed. What was he supposed to say? After he'd broken up with that dick Sakon, Ukon had come over and nearly killed his dog as some sort of twisted revenge. After that, their friendship fell into shambles and he started viewing Ukon the same as Sakon.

The man looked up at him, his eyes soft. "Hey. I came here to reconcile, alright? Looking back on it now I know I should've been kicking Sakon's ass, not Kaede's."

Kiba shut the window, going and sitting down on the bed, arms going around his knees, putting his head in the space there, looking at him. "…What's Sakon been doing these past few months? Last I heard…he was addicted to cocaine."

Ukon's voice was quiet. "Rehab didn't work. Poor bastard left town shortly after your Dad died and I haven't heard from him since. He really liked your Dad, you know."

"…You?"

"Haven't been the same since Sakon left. Like a piece of me is missing, you know? I work as a male nurse down at the hospital. There's actually a girl down there who really likes me. I might date her. It might fill the void. She has a kid, and I think she wants me to raise the little one with her…" He snickered a little, his face going pink.

"You picked the right time to talk to me. Right now the idea of kicking your ass keeps running through my head, but I'm too tired to do anything about it." He sighed, looking toward his knees. "Remember the general store? That one time we were all hanging out like normal and you were sitting propped against the dumpster smoking a joint or something? Sakon pushed me against the wall and gave me a blowjob right in front of you…"

Ukon's lips turned upward; he snorted. "Hell yeah, I remember that. I can't believe I wasn't disgusted by that, man! I must've been _really_ baked!"

"Yeah. My Mom saw him arguing with me right before he undid the button of my jeans."

His face went white, and he put a hand to his mouth. "Shit, Kiba! You never said anything to us about that! What the hell!? I'm pretty sure Sakon would've liked to know _that_!"

Kiba sighed. "I just remembered when I came back here. Besides, you know your brother. He would've gotten off on that…" He wiped at his face. "Remember the night before you found out me and Sakon had gotten together? Sophomore year? You remember that? I convinced you guys to sneak out of the house so we could visit Kimimaro, and Sakon told you to go on home while he walked me back to my house…"

"Oh, yeah! He was telling me how he nearly banged you against the table in your backyard."

"Yeah. My Mom saw him kiss me. That's when she knew I was gay…" He looked toward the booze sitting between them, desperately wishing for the bastard to leave so he could give himself a pleasant buzz before Hana got home.

"Your Mom was a great lady, Kiba."

"…Yeah. She is."

"She _was_. I know how attached you were to her. Like me and Sakon–at the hip, practically. That's why I came by here. To see how you were doing… I know you'd take it really hard. Your mother was always talking to me after you left home, I took care of her sometimes when she came to the hospital. She didn't really forgive me for us breaking apart like that, but she knew that since I was kinder than Sakon and friends with you at one point that she'd like me to help you out when she realized she was dying…" He grabbed the whiskey, tucking it away in his coat. "You don't want to go down this road, Kiba. They say that's how Kimimaro's father died. Drunk himself to death a week before Kim's fourth birthday. He kept telling us his mom had gotten a divorce until his mother told us his father had died, remember?"

There was a long, long moment that passed before Kiba shook his head. "No. I don't remember him…" His eyes were swirling with some strange emotion Ukon knew, but didn't feel like bringing up to him. Ukon went silent, quietly pondering why Kiba denied it when he'd just mentioned him earlier. Was he even talking about Kimimaro?

"Ukon…"

The man looked over, surprised to see Kiba staring at the ground with the hint of a smile on his face. "What…?"

"Do you know why I broke up with your brother?"

"No…but I'm fairly certain it was because you–"

"I told my friend Deidara it was because he cared about sex too much…but that wasn't half of it… It's because I saw you with your girlfriend at the time… The Junior, the one always wearing her hair back in pigtails. The soft-spoken one with a barrette in her hair and those rosy cheeks from laughing and smiling all the time."

"Oh…Hiruma?"

"Yeah. For the longest time I enjoyed being with your brother. Even after I realized he didn't give a shit about me, I stayed with him for the sex. It was a rush, him biting me and me biting back…until I saw how gentle you were with her and I realized I wanted that way more than just some crazy-ass psycho making me his bitch…"

Ukon nodded his head. "Yeah. And…now?" When Kiba tensed up and looked at him, he reworded the question. "Have you found the type of relationship you were looking for? A gentle one?"

Kiba looked down at the ground, finally standing and walking over, ripping the coat open and grabbing the whiskey from it. "I think you should leave now. My sister wants me to clean up. She should be back soon." He went to the window, throwing it open and taking a step back.

Ukon stared at him, frowning a little. "So…you haven't. That's a shame. I'm going to your mother's funeral, Kiba. So…just know I'm willing to make amends for what I did…" He stood, walking to the window and climbing out of it. Before he could even say good-bye, Kiba slammed it in his face and walked out of the room.

He walked into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him and taking a big swig of the whiskey. He looked at himself in the mirror, staring at those blood shot eyes in front of him. He bit his lip, looking away, finally voicing his response to Ukon out loud, to no one. His voice was bitter; his insides were tearing in two.

"I have. That's the real shame."

–––––––––––––––––––

"_Kiba…"_

_He looked over at the more well-dressed of the two brothers, starting to feel uncomfortable that Ukon wasn't there with them anymore. He bit his lip, taking a seat on top of the table beside the grill. He'd had a crush on Sakon for an almost unbearable amount of time–sometime around seventh grade. His voice was hushed more than usual, trembling slightly. "Yes…?"_

"_You like me. I know it. You're always looking at me. Always have been."_

"_D-Don't be serious…Sakon…"_

_Before he could even move, the other boy had grabbed onto his knees, holding him there on the table, pressing his body between his legs. He leaned in, their faces so close they could feel the other's breaths against their skin. "You _do_. Don't even try to deny it."_

_A squeak caught in his throat, he tried so hard not to blush. It didn't get past the boy appraising his face, so close he could almost feel his heart-beat, feel the tightening in his jeans. Kiba swallowed hard, closing his eyes tightly. "Wh-What…What if I did…? What then…"_

"_If you did…? Then…I'd be forced to kiss you, wouldn't I?"_

_Kiba opened his eyes, staring into the other's intense eyes, searching for some deeper meaning behind that. "You…uh……so you…uh… D-Do you…like me?"_

"_I want to fuck you, Kiba."_

_He went red. "D-Don't say it like that!"_

"_Why not? It's true. I want to fuck you against this table. Right here, right now. I'd enjoy it immensely. And I'm sure you would, too…" He leaned in, his lips barely ghosting against the other boy's._

_Kiba pushed him away. "N-Not here!" His voice lowered. "Wh-What… I mean…we're right behind my house… What if my parents see…?"_

"_You think they could see us? It's a new moon, there's hardly any light on us; the lights in your backyard are off. Besides, they're asleep."_

"_W-Well… What…What happens afterwards?"_

"_We date. Unless you'd rather us be friends with benefits…" He looked like he liked that idea very much. Kiba shook his head, placing a hand timidly on Sakon's shoulder._

"_N-No. I…I want to date you."_

"_Alright then. We'll date after this kiss. You'll be my boyfriend, and I'll be yours."_

_Before he could even nod his head in response, the boy had crushed their lips together, one of his hands moving to caress the inside of his thigh. Kiba gasped, the hand on Sakon's shoulder tightening its grip, his breathing quickening in time with his partner's. He reached a hand up behind the other's head, holding him there._

_Almost immediately afterward Sakon nipped Kiba's lip hard and pulled back, throwing him off of him and sounding slightly peeved. Kiba gasped again, wrapping his arms around himself and reaching up to rub against the spot that was surely bleeding._

"_Y-You…You bit me…"_

"_You were grabbing me."_

"_S-So? Isn't that what–"_

"_No. From here on out you belong to me. I'm in control of how we do things."_

_Kiba nodded his head a little. "O-Okay… I'm…I'm not that great at this sort of thing anyway…" Sakon turned to leave, he placed a hand on his shoulder. When the other boy turned around, he smiled at him. "Um…I'm glad you like me."_

_Sakon reached over, fisting his hair roughly and demanding another kiss. When that was fulfilled, he stalked off around the house, back home. Kiba stared at him, positively giddy, for the longest time before he dashed to the back door, trying to be as quiet as possible in his glee._

_He opened the door, walked in._

"_Kiba. God damn it, boy. You were sneaking out again, weren't you?"_

_He turned, face flushing, jaw dropping, wearing the most horrified expression on his face, to the sight of his mother in the dark, downing a glass of milk. He stuttered, kicking the floor a little. There was no use lying to her. "Y-Yeah…with Sakon and Ukon. Kimimaro's mother had him grounded, so we all decided to go over to his house and visit him…"_

_His mother nodded, sighing a little as she finished the glass. She placed it on the counter; he could hear it nearly slam against the wood finish. He winced. She was really mad at him for sneaking out. "S-Sorry, Mom…"_

_She sighed, though there was still that angry tone to her voice, something like spite. She had that same tone to her voice that she had when Hana snuck out with her friends to go look for guys. "No. It's fine. I did crazier things when I was your age. Me and my friends didn't care about anything back then. Did you know Mommy went to her last __Ramones__ concert when she was pregnant with you, Kiba? I'm sure that's where you get it. 53__rd__ & 3__rd__ was always my favorite song…" Her voice stiffened. "Ukon's a nice boy, Kiba. All of your friends are. Except for that Sakon. He's even more of a dog than you. I can tell by the way he talks with all of you that he wishes he had more control over the group than you. You better watch out for him. I have a feeling one of these days he's going to fight you for your position as leader."_

_He smiled sheepishly. "Ah, Mom… Sakon's pretty nice, too…"_

"……_You obviously don't see what I see… …Get to bed. _Now_."_

–––––––––––––––––––––

He stood underneath the shower, staring at the tiles on the wall, his hand placed gently to his right to help hold him steady. He looked down, bringing his other hand up to his collar bone, where there was a small scar from the time Sakon decided to try out a knife. Along his left shoulder there were about five little circular scars from cigarette burns. He knew along his back there were scratch marks from way back when.

He bit his lip, sucking in a breath. He knew there were more in the middle of his back, a few along his leg. Hell, for about a month he had deep bruises across his chest and along his back. He was pretty sure at one point Sakon pinned him against the bed by his neck once.

He sighed, lifting his head up and running his fingers through his hair, combing through it, getting all of the shampoo out of it.

. . .

_He tumbled into his room, Sakon right behind. He was grinning like crazy, trying to keep himself from laughing. "Isn't it great? I convinced my parents I'd be fine by myself if they went up to visit Grandma and Grandpa without me… We've got the house to ourselves for a full week!"_

_Sakon shoved him onto the bed, popping the buttons off his button-down shirt off eagerly. "Shit, Kiba. You know me too well." He growled lowly, rubbing his tongue along the length of Kiba's neck and giving him a nice bite right over the same spot he'd taken a slice at about a month ago. Right on the collar bone. The scar was still there. Kiba moaned in response, his breathing escalating a little._

_The more dominant one looked around, grabbing for a belt on the ground. He grabbed Kiba's wrists, tightening the belt around them and then wrapping it around one of the bars in the mantle of the bed. Kiba eyed the other boy hungrily, twisting his body around a little bit, testing how well it would hold._

"_You want to know something funny?"_

_Sakon kissed down his chest, down to his belly. He toyed with the waistband of his jeans, fumbling with the button a little. He simply grunted in response, finally looking up at Kiba, as if he felt he was supposed to listen just because the brunette had said something. "…What." He finally mumbled._

"_I think my Mom does this to my Dad. I found a _leash_ in one of the drawers of her dresser…" _

_Sakon's eyes lit up, and a grin slowly formed on his face. "A leash. Like…a _dog_ leash?" When Kiba nodded, he shot up, putting his face in his hands, laughing out loud. "Shit! Why didn't I ever think about it!? You're just like a little puppy, Kiba! Let me go find it!" He dashed off quickly, off to the master bedroom. _

_Kiba blushed, trying to find his center, trying to steady his breathing. His mind started to race, all of the possibilities running around in his head. Sakon came back, leash in hand, a devilish grin on his face. He went over, putting a hand on the inside of Kiba's thigh. Kiba gasped lightly, that excitement coming back._

_Sakon hit him in the face with the leash, causing the boy to wince. He opened an eye, gritting his teeth, tears starting to form. "Ow… Hey, Sakon… Not the face, remember? I don't want my parents finding out… My Mom would notice if I was bruised, you know…"_

_Sakon simply smiled, unhooking the clasp and placing the collar around Kiba's neck. "I forgot how psycho your mother is about you." He leaned over, tracing a finger down the brunette's chest. "Now…bark for me."_

_Kiba went red, slightly upset that he couldn't cover his face. "Sh…Shit… N-No. That's embarrassing!" He chuckled a little, and Sakon tightened his grip on the leash, tugging on his neck. _

"_Bark."_

"…_C-Come on… I'm not a dog…"_

"_This is my game, and I say you are." He tugged harder on it, until the skin started rubbing raw. He ignored how much Kiba was wincing, slowly growing angrier and angrier. "Hey! I say you're a dog, damn it!" He hit him across the chest. "Now bark!"_

_Kiba winced, eyeing him with just as much anger. "Don't I at least get a safety word!? You're hitting too hard!"_

_Sakon rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that safety bull shit, Kiba. You only know about all of that after we watched that porno at my house. And you're not all tied up completely. No need for a safety word, fucking idiot." He stroked his hand up Kiba's thigh, earning a moan from the brunette. "What are you, Kiba? You a dog?" He undid the buttons of his jeans, sticking his hand down his boxers._

_The brunette choked back a scream. His breathing escalated. As Sakon continued his administrations, Kiba gradually started to feel his self-control slipping. Sakon bent down, taking him into his mouth._

_Kiba barked._

. . .

He stepped out of the shower, sighing wearily and rubbing his face against his cheeks. Looking back on it now, he couldn't believe he'd ever done something so humiliating. And for _three_ years, too. For _three_ years he put up with Sakon's shit, completely _enjoying_ it, too!

. . .

_They all laughed, going out behind the general store, to the dumpster back there. Kimimaro's mother had told them he was sick and couldn't come out to play. They knew it was because she'd smelled weed on his sweater when he went back home the other night. Ukon snorted, lighting up a joint almost immediately after he took his spot by the dumpster._

"_Shit, guys. Kimimaro's mom did that shit when she was pregnant with him. That's why he's so slow to react to anything. You all know it, too! I don't see why she got so upset."_

_Sakon laughed, taking the joint from his brother and taking a hit from it. "All of the adults know about the shit we do. This is a small town, Ukon. You're a fucking moron. Must be all of this pot." He shoved the blunt back into his brother's mouth, standing back up and leaning against the dumpster._

"_Hey, Kiba. You want some?" Ukon offered him the joint, a pleasant smile on his face.  
_

_Kiba shook his head, his cheeks nice and red. "Nah. I've had my fill." He laughed. "After this, we need to go back and raid my dad's liquor stash again. Think you guys can sneak out after midnight?"_

_Ukon thrust his finger in the air. "Hey, yeah! That's a great idea! You always liked booze more than weed, didn't ya?" He turned to his brother, a grin plastered on his face. "We can do that, right, Sakon? I think it sounds like a great plan." _

_Sakon nodded his head a little, a bit stiff. "F-Fuck yeah…" he managed to force through clenched teeth._

_Ukon turned back to Kiba. "Yeah. We can do that. You always have the best ideas, Kiba. That's why we've followed you around this long! Oh man! We need to get the guys together this time, too! They'd really like that idea!" He took another hit from the joint in his hand, and Kiba grinned._

"_Hell yeah. Hey, maybe we should ask Spiderman if he wants to come along…"_

_Ukon laughed_. "_Who? _Kidoumaru_? That kid's a nerd. He collects spiders, Kiba. You know people who collect spiders and bugs and crap are always really lame socially."_

"_So what? I'm sure he'd open up more if I talked to him. I kicked that guy's ass who was messing with him. I say he should hang out with us now. Become our friend. You never know–think of all the pranks we could pull if we had his spiders with us…"_

_Ukon kicked his foot against the ground, bursting out laughing. "Hell yeah! We could totally put some in the teacher's desk! Or we could let them loose in the girl's locker room!" He looked over at Sakon, taking another hit. "Whattya say, bro? Should we let Kidoumaru hang out with us from now on?"_

_Sakon finally voiced his thoughts on the matter. "That waste of space? Fuck no. You heard Ukon, Kiba. He's just as much of a creepy-crawlie as those fucking spiders he collects. I heard he even taught them to drop from the ceiling during Halloween. You know how fucked up that is?! He trains spiders! He's a fucking creep-o!"_

_Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Well, if it means having another friend, I say we should let him hang out with us… Sure he doesn't talk a lot, but he's a good kid. He's always doting on his mother. He carries all of her bags from the grocery store, even if she's got more than he has arms for! He's a nice person!"_

_Sakon stormed over, pressing him up against the wall, digging his finger into his shoulder, right on the joint. Kiba nearly screamed in response. Sakon ignored it. "That's just it, Kiba! He'd rat us out! You know he'd fucking rat us out the second he discovered all of the shit we do! We can't fucking trust some goody-goody who dotes on his fucking mother!"_

_Kiba stared him down, his chest heavy, completely upset that Sakon wasn't seeing it the way he saw it. His voice was quiet. "S-Sakon…come on… Don't be mad at me… I mean__…__you__…__" His cheeks went pink, assuming he was just jealous. "Kidoumaru means nothing to me."  
_

_Sakon smiled, undoing the button of his jeans. "I'm not mad at _you_…just that stupid fucking idea of yours. Come on, babe. We don't want Kidoumaru finding out about _us_, do you? He'd rat us out… Your Mom would be crushed to discover her little pup was a fucking flamer. And then she'd have to ask about us, and she'd find out all the crazy shit we do. She'd be _ashamed_…"_

_Kiba frowned. "S-Sorry I said anything… I love you."_

_Sakon grinned, glancing back at his brother before he looked back at Kiba, a devilish grin on his face. "I'm giving you a blowjob in front of my brother. Just to make sure you get that silly idea out of your head. Got it?"_

_Kiba went red, glancing over at Ukon, sucking in a breath. "N-No, Sakon. He doesn't want to see that…"_

"_I don't give a shit if he doesn't want to see it. He's going to."_

––––––––––––––––––

He stepped out into the hallway, towel wrapped around his waist. His sister was moving around in the kitchen, talking on the phone. He froze when he heard who she was talking to.

"Juugo, I miss you so much… Where are you? You sound like you're in a park… Oh, is that Akamaru with you? How's he doing? ……Actually…I didn't call for that… I…I wanted to… Well, I know you and Shino were supposed to call me if something happened to Akamaru, but I couldn't keep myself from calling you. I miss you so much… I really wish I'd let you come with us like you asked… But…someone needed to watch Akamaru… I put all of my shoes at the top of my closet to make sure he couldn't get to them, but you should check underneath the couch. He usually tosses the shoes he's finished with underneath the couch. Just in case. Yes, I made sure there was enough dog food. I doubt he'd be eating much, but if he happens to run out, we usually get it from that one store about three blocks away from the animal shelter. Kiba? Oh…he's doing just as terrible as he was when he found out… I don't…think he's holding up at all. I'm glad you asked. Who are you talking to? Akamaru can hear me over the phone, silly. He's got good ears; you don't have to repeat everything to him. Well, I suppose this is good-bye… Oh, the funeral? Yeah. We're holding it tomorrow at noon like Mom requested. Well…good-bye… ……" Her voice softened; he could literally hear her melt. "…I…I love you, too… I think that's the first time you've said that to me…um… You should say it more often… Well, g-good-bye."

Kiba walked into the kitchen, completely forgetting about all of his scars. "S-Sis? Um…was that Juugo on the phone?"

She turned around, her cheeks bright red, tears forming in her eyes. "Y-Yes. Yes it…" She trailed off, staring at the scars. She spied the cut along his collarbone, the cigarette burns around his shoulder "K-Kiba…what the hell is all of _that_ from?"

Kiba's cheeks darkened; he rubbed his arm anxiously. "Wild sex. Look, it doesn't really matter anymore. How's he doing?"

She nodded, walking over toward him and sniffing his hair, glad to smell scented shampoo. He smelled clean for the first time in four days. Now she just had to do something about that stubble around his chin. She started grooming, running her fingers through his hair and placing locks of hair around objectively. He needed a hair cut.

"Akamaru's doing fine. He hasn't thrown up, surprisingly… I thought that'd be the first thing he did when we left the house…"

"……I don't mean Akamaru. How's…er…J-Juugo?"

She kissed his clean hair, pulling back and looking straight into her brother's eyes. She stared into them for what felt like twelve minutes, and she nodded. "If you want, I'll call Shino and ask him. He won't be able to tell me anything new in regards to Akamaru, though…" She looked away. "I'm sure he's discovered your empty room by now…" She looked back at her brother. "Kiba, I really don't think it was fair of you to not…tell…"

But he was already walking back to his room, scratching his head irritably.

She sighed, spying the grooves in his back. "Oh, Kiba… What the hell did you get into after I left home…? Mom must've noticed _something_…"

–––––––––––––––––––

He hung up the phone, looking at the shorter man patting the dog on the head. "So. The funeral's at noon tomorrow. We can't make anymore stops, no matter how much Akamaru protests. Only one more bathroom break."

Shino nodded, glancing back at him. "I really should've figured Kiba wouldn't have changed…"

Juugo shrugged. "You never know. He could've taken a turn for the worse. It was good to ask when you did." He looked back down at the dog. "Come on, let's get him back in the car." There was another round of chirping, and Juugo glared up at the tree they were standing by. "Sheesh. That bird hasn't shut up since we got Akamaru out of the car." They both started loading up the dog into the back of the car in silence, ignoring the bird as it chirped even more.

Right as Shino opened the door to the passenger seat, there was a loud buzz, like a cicada chirping. He looked down, reaching into his coat. He pulled out the phone that was ringing and flipped it open. The bird chirped loudly, and he nearly threw a rock at it. "Kiba? What the hell are you– Oh. Hey, Hana. What's going on?"

"…You're with Juugo, aren't you?"

He stuttered, looking back at the man staring at him from the car. "Uh…yeah. I am. Why do you ask?"

"There's a bird. I heard the same one when I was talking to Juugo. Are you and him giving Akamaru a walk in the park?"

"……Yes. We are. I went to go check up on Akamaru and he was there to go take Akamaru for a walk. I decided to go with him…"

"So…you were the one he was talking to. Listen, Shino, what do you want me to tell Kiba? He wants to know how you're doing."

He smiled a little, his chest growing warm, before he remembered everything. His tone went cold, and he glared at the seat in front of him. "He did? I'm surprised he's still concerned about his friends, considering the fact that he left them all behind. The office is in shambles because of him. He really needs to have more consideration for the people who care about him."

"Shut up, Shino. He's going through a hard time."

"That doesn't give anyone the right to just run away and leave their friends behind! Shit, Hana! Do you know how _I_ must've felt!? It really _hurts_, him thinking he can just suddenly walk in and befriend me then leave me almost immediately afterward. Four weeks isn't nearly enough time to spend with someone. You can tell Kiba I'm pissed off at him for thinking he can just leave without anyone noticing."

"…I'm sure he knows you'd notice eventually. But…for reasons I don't think he wants me sharing with you, he really needed her. He really needed Mom and she wound up dying before he could get any sort of support from her. She was always the one who was able to give him just the right advice he needed. He needed her advice again. But he's never going to get it now. I can understand why he wouldn't care about any of you back home right now. Hell, even _Akamaru_. Because the only one he'd been really concerned with for the past few weeks had been Mom. It's going to take him time to recover. If you have a problem with his actions, you might as well take it up with him. You want me to put him on the phone?"

Shino got into the car, slamming the door. "No. I'll just tell it to his face the next time I see him."

"Shino…you just don't get it. He's not _planning_ on going back to the city."

His voice went rigid, his back muscles tensed. "Good. Because neither am I." He slammed the phone closed, tossing it onto the dashboard angrily. He looked over at Juugo, anger rushing to the surface, scalding his words like a hot poker, making him annunciate every syllable nice and slow.

"Drive."

––––––––––––––––––

"_Sakon. We really need to talk."_

"_What is it, babe?"_

"_It's over."_

_Sakon stared at him, his face paling, his chest growing cold. Kiba was staring straight through him, and it was obvious he wasn't kidding. He let out a laugh. "Wh-What!? You can't be serious, Kiba."_

_Kiba shook his head. "I am serious. The three years we were together were fun, but I'm sick and tired of your shit. Pushing me around, making me your bitch, getting me to do everything you want. It's over. My mom was right. All you want is to be in control of our group. You didn't fight me like she said you would, but you made sure to take control by fucking me."_

_Sakon glared, grabbing him and pushing him against the wall, his hand clenching around his throat. "What the fuck do you mean by that!? It's _not_ over between us! It's not over until _I_ say it's over!"_

_Kiba coughed, kneeing the bastard in the groin. As Sakon released him and fell to the floor, he shoved Sakon off of him, back into the bunk bed the twins shared. He brought a hand to his throat, catching his breath. Tears made their way to his cheeks, and he kicked Sakon again. "You never once told me you loved me, you asshole! Don't think I wouldn't see it eventually! I saw it a year ago when you gave me a blowjob in front of your brother! You didn't give a shit about me! All you wanted was to seize control over me! Well, I put up with it for another year and now I'm fucking sick of it! You're fucked up! It's over between us! I don't even want to see you near me or my friends ever again, do you hear me!?"_

_Sakon looked up at him, eyes glowering. "What!? So we're not even friends anymore, is that it!? We were friends since elementary school and _now_ you don't even want to see me!? Who the hell do you think you are!?"  
_

"_Kiba fucking Inuzuka! Remember what I said! I see you near my friends, I'll kick your ass!"_

"_What!?" Sakon stood. "So I can't even talk to my brother anymore, is that it!? Trust me! He's not going to be happy when he hears about this! I'll have him kick _your_ ass for me, fag!"_

_Kiba gave him a swift kick, sending him straight back to the ground, and spit in his face. "You don't know how much I wish I'd gotten involved with your brother instead of you!!" He wiped at his eyes, at the tears staring to run down his cheeks. "It sucks that _you _had to be the one who was gay instead of Ukon!" _

_Sakon recovered almost instantly, bursting out laughing. "It sucks you had to be as much of a bitch as your mother!" His comment resulted in his jaw nearly being dislocated as Kiba slugged him hard in the face._

_Kiba stormed home in a rage, cracking his knuckles the entire time._

_A few hours later, Kiba heard the sounds of yelping outside his window from where he was sitting, steaming and crying in his room. He shot up, dashing out into the backyard where Ukon was kicking the shit out of his dog. "Ukon, you son of a bitch! What the fuck are you doing to Kaede!? Get the fuck off of her!" He tackled him to the ground, slamming him hard in the face._

_Ukon shoved his hand in Kiba's face, shoving him off of him. He pushed the dog-lover over, sending him falling right on top of his dog. Kaede let out a pained howl in response, and Kiba shot up, his face white._

"_Oh my God! Kaede!!" The dog whimpered, and he placed a hand on her side, feeling her labored breathing. He turned to Ukon, angry tears streaming down his face. "What the hell!? You pushed me right on top of her, you asshole!"_

_Ukon stormed over, grabbing his hair and kicking him in the chest. "That's for my brother, Kiba! You think you have any right to tell him he can't hang with the guys!? What makes you think you're some big pack leader? We're fucking people, not dogs, you son of a bitch! It's a pity we had to end our friendship right before graduation!"_

_Kiba whimpered, looking back down at Kaede. "Why'd your brother have to be such a douche bag? He never once treated me gently." He could feel Ukon staring at him for a long time, and he couldn't tell if his ex-friend was trying to figure out if what he was saying was true or if he was feeling guilty. He could have cared less what Ukon was thinking. His eyes drifted back to the dog, mind racing for what he was supposed to do in this situation. His mother probably would've known, just as Hana probably would have. What was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to pick her up? What if he'd broken something??  
_

_The back door slammed closed, and the smell of borage filled his nostrils. He looked up, bleary-eyed, bottom lip trembling. _

"_What's going on out here, Kiba? I heard shouting." His mother stared at him for a long moment before she caught sight of the dog whining next to him. Her eyes drifted to Ukon and her jaw locked, her fists clenching. She stormed over, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt._

"_You and your brother better leave my Kiba alone if you know what's good for you. He's been through enough." She shoved him to the ground, her face blaring red with rage, her voice rising. "Get lost! Tell your brother if he takes one step near Kiba again, I don't care how many strikes of child abuse I'll get, I'll beat him within an inch of his fucking life!"_

_Ukon's eyes widened, and he stumbled to his feet, dashing out of the backyard. She shouted after him. "And be sure to tell your mother she's a dirty whore!!"_

_She turned around, her rage diminished and she went to her son, bending down and putting an arm around him. "Kaede's going to be fine, baby. Help me with her. We'll take her to the vet…"_

_Kiba spoke, his voice filled with guilt. "I…I fell on top of her. I hurt her, Mom…"_

"_No. It was an accident. She's not going to hold an accident against you. Now come on. Help me with her. We have to be careful in case that bag of shit broke any of her bones."_

_He sobbed, his hands going to his face. "They hate me now. After so many years of friendship, they just end it like that… I stopped caring about Sakon after he kept pushing me around, but…but Ukon was actually nice… I still want to be his friend…"_

_She gathered him up in her arms, kissing the top of his head. "Oh, Kiba… I'm so, so, so sorry… I wish I could just kiss the cut and make everything better like when you were a kid… But I can't just open up your chest and kiss you heart now, can I?" She rubbed his head, shushing him. "Everything's going to be okay. There will be other, better friends. Ones who will love you no matter what you do… They won't push you around or hold things against you or go after Kaede to get back at you… They'll love you just as much as I do and nothing will separate you from them, just like nothing will ever separate you from me…"_

. . .

Kiba stared up at his ceiling, his eyes narrow. Mom always knew what to say to make him feel better. What would she have said to him right now? It was obvious she couldn't use how they'd never be separated. Because they were. There was a deep chasm between them, and he was unable to cross it. He would be unable to cross it until the day he died. He looked over at the whiskey sitting by the pillow. He grabbed it, taking a big drink.

He sighed a little, curling over and staring at the wall. His mom always had some strange uncanny way of knowing everything about him. She knew he was gay; it was no wonder she was able to say the one thing that would make him feel better. She mentioned him finding knew friends, what she meant was a boyfriend. He sighed, rubbing at his eyes tiredly.

Shino also had a habit of saying the one thing that would make him feel better. Every time he thought he was going to yell at him, Shino would open up his mouth and quietly tell him something he wasn't expecting. He managed to calm him down after he first got a job at the office, after he started freaking out in the bathroom at the Baked Alaska, after that whole business with Suigetsu and TenTen, back when he was about to tell him his father kicked him out of the house when he discovered he was gay, when he whipped out that movie–All Dogs Go to Heaven–, so many different things. He remembered each and every one of them.

He shuddered a breath, sitting up and taking another swig of whiskey. His cheeks were warm; he felt warmth spreading through his chest. He coughed, turning back over to look at the ceiling.

He hated it. It was exactly like his mother had said. Someone better than all of his other boyfriends. Better than Sakon, who didn't care about him and treated him like a dog, better than those week-long flings that never went anywhere in college, better than that one guy he managed to hold down a steady relationship with him for about a year before the jerk-off got tired and broke up with him because he was "too clingy", Kidoumaru, whom had come onto him while he was drunk and wound up saying he was just experimenting when it all came down to it and his father found out, better than Deidara when he tried to help him forget. He'd found someone better in Shino. Someone who wouldn't hold anything against him, someone who'd be there for him and bring him back down to earth when he freaked out.

He bit his lip, picking up his clock and hurling it at the wall, anger swelling up in his chest. And that was why he had to leave. Because it _was_ Shino that he wanted, but Shino didn't want him. In fact, Shino didn't want guys in general. He swore under his breath, putting his face in his hands angrily.

"I don't want anyone else to make me feel better like you used to, Mom…"

* * *

_So_…_what would any of you do? After reading it, do you think it should be changed to mature?_


	19. The Funeral pt4

_Oh yeah. This is my favorite type of chapter. Starts with the way it ends. Yep. Hope you all enjoy it. I don't have much to say. In this chapter, Hana kicks so much ass._

_Woah. Just go into MS Word if you use that, type in "Hana kicks so much ass." MS Word will try to correct "much ass" and tell you the proper way to write that sentence is "Hana kicks so many asses."_

_HAHAHA! I can't help it. That strikes me as funny. Like a man who's trying to be badass but is too nice to be doing a good job at it. _

"_I will shank you, fellow. Do not think I won't. I will shank you well. And then I will turn you into my b…b…bi…my _female dog_!" _

_Anyway, you see how Hana's holding up in this chapter. At the beginning. I was going to make it more routine, until one of my reviewers was saying how they didn't like how Hana wasn't grieving enough. Yeah…oops. I forgot about Hana, didn't I? So. I put in some hints to show just how she's doing._

_As for my thoughts on this whole chapter…I was raised Baptist. I understand where Christians come from when they say homosexuality is a sin. I don't mind them saying it's a sin, really. To be honest, the part of me that was raised Baptist still sometimes shouts out that me writing this is going to send me to hell. (It's probably right, but whatever.) I just feel I have to let everyone know where I'm coming from when I write this. I was raised in a private school, and my favorite teacher–the nicest woman in the world, who taught Bible class–had a son who was found out to be gay. They expelled him from school and even forced her to resign from her position as a teacher. I was only in sixth grade at the time, so I never really understood why that was necessary, and it really affected me in my views on the whole homosexuality issue. There's a way to find the middle ground. It's the two radicals that I have problems with. The church members in the town Kiba lives in–radicals. So. Just so anyone who's religious knows–I'm well aware not all places are like this. I'm well aware there are plenty of church-goers who aren't all fire-and-brimstone._

_Now. Next chapter is chapter twenty. That's never happened in any of my fics before. Neither has nineteen, but twenty. Wow. I also made this fic my first 100,000plus word fic either last chapter or the one before it. Maybe three chapters ago? I can't tell. Oh well. Either way, it's a big deal for me. So. I want to make a big deal about it with you all, too._

_(Stick around after the chapter and see a sneak peek into my big celebratory chapter.)_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 19_

"Mom! Help me!"

He fought for air, trying to keep himself from choking on the water pouring into his mouth, pulling him under, keeping his head from staying above the surface of the lake. He gasped as a wave washed over him. It was no longer a lake; it was an ocean. His head went under, and soon he was fighting his way to the surface.

He pushed against the water, but with each stroke with his arms there seemed to be more water pounding over him, and he stayed in the same place, fighting. His mouth opened, and he felt his breath give out.

A hand reached out, grabbing him by his arm, pulling him out of the water. He fell onto something stiff, coughing up water and gasping for air. Somehow between his struggle in the water and being pulled out, he managed to find his hands and knees on solid ground. It was grainy beneath him, like the smooth wood of a ship's deck.

"Kiba…"

He looked up, eyes blurry from all of the salt, stinging. His entire body started to turn frigid, and he bit his lip.

"M-Mom…?"

She bent down, wiping the tears from his cheeks and running her hand through his matted hair. "Kiba, I can't keep helping you. It's time to move on." She was frail, and it looked like she would break if he even touched her. Tears made their way down his cheeks again, and he wiped at his face.

"I don't want to forget about you… I don't want to move on…" He grabbed her, wrapping his arms around her, and he realized just how small she was. She had been so strong when alive, and now she'd been reduced to some emaciated porcelain doll. He choked back a sob, wiping the tears from his eyes as best as he could. He took in her scent, upset that she reeked like the hospital. It wasn't even like she was his mother anymore.

She grew, slowly becoming more stronger, that smell soon returning. Soon, she was taller than him, gripping him tightly. The stench of borage and musk filled his nose, and he looked up. His heart just about stopped and he pushed the man who had replaced his mother away from him.

"Sh-Shino!? What the hell–"

"It's time to move on, Kiba."

Kiba's eyes narrowed, and he had to fight from agreeing with him. He smelled just like his mother. Why would Shino smell more like his mother than his own mother did? He felt tears fresh on his face and shook his head angrily.

"No way in hell! I'm never moving on! She's supposed to be there for me! She's supposed to help me!!"

Shino walked over, grabbing his sleeve. "She's gone. Forget about her, Kiba. Just…move on."

"You can't just demand that from me! Who the hell do you think you are!?"

Shino grabbed him by the collar of his shirt this time, his voice low. "I only demand it because it's time for you to make a choice. Wallow here forever, with the mother that can't be there for you, or move on and move back to the city, where I'll be there for you…"

Kiba pushed Shino off of him and toppled backward, his back hitting the deck of the ship at a force that knocked the wind out of him. Somehow he had landed on his face, despite the fact that he'd fallen backward. He pulled his head off the ground and shouted.

"MOM!!"

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see the covers wrapped around him; he was on the floor rather than the bed. He groaned, rubbing his head. He'd had some to drink the other night, but…why did his head hurt so much? Was he awake again, or was this a dream? He must've fallen off the dream and jolted himself awa–

_Crash!_

Something in the kitchen fell to the ground, and before he even heard her bare feet dashing down the hall, he knew he'd spooked his sister pretty bad. Hana appeared at his doorway panting, her face white, eyes wide.

"Kiba! Oh my God! What's wrong!?" She immediately went to his side, grabbing his shoulders and helping him sit up.

He stared at her, the words catching in his throat. What could he tell her? What could he _possibly_ tell her?? That he'd had a little too much to drink from some of Dad's stash and wound up having one of the scariest dreams in his life? He started to tremble, and that's when he noticed the blood running down her hand. It was practically gushing, and there was what looked like a piece of glass lodged right in the knuckle of her right hand. Her eyes were red, and words spilled from his mouth.

"Hana, what happened?"

Hana stared at him for a brief moment before she followed his eyes to her hand and shook her head, her right hand firm on his shoulder. "I-I-It's nothing, Kiba… It doesn't matter. What happened to you? You were screaming? Is something wrong? Was it a dream?"

Kiba stood shakily, his eyes clearly showing he felt otherwise. "Doesn't matter!? Hana, you've got blood pouring from a cut on your hand. A nightmare hardly overshadows that! What's wrong with you??" His entire face was a mix between disgust–she really felt she had the right to tell him it was no big deal?—and worry–why the hell did she have glass lodged in her hand?

Hana stood, wincing a little as she grabbed the piece of glass. "It's nothing, Kiba. I just…" She pulled it out, surprised to see it was much deeper than she thought before. She was surprised she hadn't completely made one the tendons unusable with a piece of glass lodged that deep. "Oh, shit, that's deep." She chuckled. "No wonder it was bleeding so much…"

Kiba grabbed her arm, pulling her into the kitchen. There was a china cabinet in the kitchen, pushed up against the wall opposite the windows to the backyard, and it looked as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. That explained how the glass got in her hand. She protested a little, but he shoved her into a chair and grabbed the first aid kit from the floor, the one she'd dropped after he screamed.

He got to work, cleaning the blood off her hand and disinfecting the wound. He stared at it, as more blood kept pouring free. Hana's voice was quiet. "…I think I'll need stitches, but we can't go to the hospital right now. It would take too much time and there's a chance we'd miss the funeral… There are no stitching supplies in the first aid kit, but there might be some in the kennels out in the back."

Kiba nodded, dashing out the back door without another word. Hana stared at him, before she noticed the sharp pain in her foot. She lifted it a little, surprised to see it was bleeding as well. Her eyes fell to the glass littering the floor in front of her, where she'd probably gotten some in her foot in that dash to Kiba's bedroom. She propped it up on the table, groaning a little. Just great. She really didn't want to have to limp all the way out to the gravesite. Maybe if she was lucky most of the glass was superficial.

Kiba came back in with some thread and a needle. It was the good kind of stitches–the kinds used in veterinary clinics. Usually they made sure to go to the hospital when the situation required it, but his mother had always been stubborn about that sort of thing. It was always a last resort–when broken bones and internal damage may have been involved. Everything else she took care of herself, even the stitches and splinters her kids had managed to wrack up over the years. Hana was always a gold medal in splinters; Kiba was clumsy as shit and falling all over the place before he hit ten, before they'd taken the training wheels off him.

Kiba started stitching up her hand, mumbling a weak apology every time she winced. Hana stared at him, emotions building up in her chest until finally she was crying again. "You look so much like Mom, Kiba… I remember…you were always getting so many stitches for everything, and the one time I wound up having to get my knee stitched up, it was because you'd accidentally knocked me over while I was going out to the backyard and you didn't see me as you swung the door open right into the back of my head… You remind me of Mom. She was doing the same thing you were doing…and you look just like her…" She wiped at her eyes with the hand that wasn't getting stitched up. "I've tried so hard to be strong for you. I'm sorry I let you down."

Kiba finished the stitching awkwardly, cutting the string and noticing the foot that was bleeding. He shook his head. "…You haven't let me down, Hana…" He buried himself in the task of de-glassing and cleaning and bandaging her foot, keeping his thoughts from drifting back to his sister.

He stopped when he felt a hand on his head. He looked up at her, surprised to see she was smiling. He started ripping at the skin on his bottom lip anxiously, resisting the urge to pull her into a tight hug. His eyes drifted back to her foot, pulling out the rest of the glass that wasn't too deep. He muttered, "You try to be strong too much, Hana. Mom was a hardass and Dad was a bit of a softie. You take after him. There's no reason for you to…to…" He trailed off when he heard her crying.

His eyes drifted back to her, and his eyes were soft. "You never cried after Dad died. I remember that. Instead you tried to be strong and buried yourself in work… Even at the funeral you just stared at him in the casket, even after Mom had gone and requested he be sprayed with his favorite cologne… You didn't even shed a tear."

"Of course I didn't cry…" She buried her face in her hands. "I was so angry that he kicked you out of the house… I was angry that you could have affected him so deeply like that and I couldn't! Both of them just cared so much about you. So I forced myself to care so much about you, too… Inside…I…" She started to shake. "At the funeral, I really _hated_ you, Kiba. I hated you so much, and even for the next few months afterwards I was extra nice to you to hide it! But I…I just can't hide it any longer… I'm sorry. It's not right for me to hate you like that… …I really let you down…"

Kiba frowned, looking at the ground for a moment. "So…when you suggested that ad in the paper…you…you just wanted me to find someone to take me out of your home……didn't you?"

She shook her head, reaching over and grabbing his hand. "No, Kiba! No, I was over it by then! It was just for two months after Dad died. I guess…I just felt so guilty because after Mom said in that message that she favored you over me, I remembered how I felt back at Dad's funeral." She wiped a few tears from her eyes, leaning over and kissing his cheek. "It's so difficult to hate someone like you… I could only keep up with it for two months before I realized it was impossible to continue any longer… Kiba, you light up any room when you walk in. Your energy and eagerness and undying loyalty just make it so difficult to hate you! To forget about you! That's why he's–"

She stopped abruptly, and his eyes instantly met hers. "He……?"

"……I'm…I'm sure that's why Shino grew so attached to you in such a short amount of time…"

Kiba took a step back, barely missing the glass as he stormed out into the living room. Hana sighed, looking at her foot. "Kiba…I'm sorry…" She stood as best as she could, hopping on her good foot into the living room after him. "Kiba, my foot… We still have the funeral at noon…" She gave him a timid smile, hoping he'd forgive her, hoping he'd simply forgotten and that he'd get back to it so she could get ready.

"It's almost ten, Hana." He was sitting on the couch, hands crossed over his chest, looking extremely peeved. "You have _two_ hours to get ready."

She leaned against the wall and narrowed her eyes. "I can't get ready if my foot is still bleeding! You are so _selfish_ right now!"

Kiba stood, growling, going over to her looking like he was about ready to push her. "_I'm_ selfish!? You hated me because you were a little jealous that Mom and Dad loved me! Because you thought Dad favored me over you! You're so full of shit, Hana! The only reason why you were so nice to me after Dad died was because you didn't want to admit how much you hated me! You think _I_ didn't notice!? You started cooking _everything_! Even for everyday food! You went to work, came home late, and yet you were still slaving over a stove at nine at night even after I told you I'd eaten already! You were falling asleep at the kitchen counter! I noticed every time I came over to you and even if I wasn't feeling upset or anything you'd pull me into a hug! You never did that before! Hell, you even treated Akamaru better! You switched to wet food the entire time!"

"What _about_ Akamaru, Kiba!? At least I didn't leave him behind at home! He _knows_ you aren't coming back! How could you just leave him behind like that!? You're just _selfish_ because Mom's dead and you've got no support from her! You don't care about anyone else right now! All you care about is how _you're_ feeling! How do you think _I_ feel!? How do you think _Akamaru_ feels!? Shit, how do you think _Shino_ feels!?"

Kiba put his face in his hands, groaning. "I don't want to hear this from you, Hana…"

"Well you need to hear it from _someone_, and Mom's not here to say it! You know she'd say the _same_ thing!"

Kiba looked up at her, standing and going numb again. Hana was right. Mom would've yelled at him to stop being so selfish. She'd definitely be pissed off that he left Akamaru behind, and all the other friends he'd made back home, and…Shino… He nodded his head slowly, grabbing her around the waist and giving her someone to lean on.

"…You're right… I need to stop being so selfish."

–––––––––––––––––––

There was something wrong with Hana, and it wasn't just the fact that she'd just dropped that bomb on him that morning…or that she shattered the china cabinet in a fit of rage. Or that she'd suddenly cried in front of him and then yelled at him for being selfish.

She kept looking around the entire time during the funeral.

They arrived there at eleven, and people were shaking her hand, commenting how much she looked like Mom. They completely ignored him, but he was prepared for that. He was pretty sure if he had a choice, he wouldn't have even had it held in a church. Maybe he needed to just swathe himself in rainbows and run around drinking pig's blood. Maybe _then_ they'd have a reason for ignoring him, but for him just being gay? What the hell?

Hana still kept looking around like she was expecting someone to just walk up and punch her in the face. She always looked worried, too.

Finally, they all sat down in the pews, waiting for the pastor to come up and say a few things. Her casket was up there, open, and Kiba kept his eyes at the ground, biting his lip. He didn't want to see her. She was going to look weak, she wasn't going to look like his mother.

A man walked up to the front, preparing to give the eulogy. Hana nudged him, pointing at the man at the pulpit. Kiba lifted his head and looked at the man, surprised to see the man was so old, it looked like he'd actually dried up in the sun at one point. He had a giant wart right on his chin, and his eyebrows looked like Jack Nicholson's. The man was one-hundred-fifty, easy. Why did he look so familiar?

The man cleared his throat, the sound of mucus flying into the mic. It was disgusting. What he said next was even more disgusting.

"Ms. Tsume Inuzuka was a wonderful woman with grace and poise. She carried herself through her last months with the dignity expected by such a strong woman. She had a rough life growing up, but through it all she managed to keep her head out of the heavier stuff–"

Both Hana and Kiba exchanged looks. Hell, she made it well known she was fairly certain her and her husband were hyped up on heroin something fierce when Hana was conceived.

"–and she has been such a blessing to us. Always so polite, never speaking out of turn, and she always had the kindest words to say to people. I'll never remember when one of the other women in our Bible Study group was suffering in an abusive relationship. She gave her a bright smile and patted her on the back. She didn't even have to say anything, and the woman immediately understood she'd have us there to support her."

Kiba just stared at him like he was crazy. When he was fourteen, his mother had actually shouted at a woman for being so weak because she let her _dog_ knock her over when she was carrying the baby around the house. A woman who's _husband_ was beating her? She would have probably slapped some sense into her. She most certainly would've at least shouted at her to kick his him in the balls and show him she wouldn't take shit from anyone.

"Tsume had two children. Her lovely daughter Hana, the apple of her eye, and……" As the man trailed off into silence, a few people in the audience coughed. The man recovered instantly. "She was always praying for her daughter, and she asked us to pray for her. She always said her biggest joy in life was giving birth to such a wonderful da–"

"Do any of you people actually _know_ my mother?"

All eyes fell to Hana, who had stood and was staring at the man like he was crazy. A woman in the back shouted. "Of course we knew her! That's why we're here to remember her!"

Hana stifled a laugh, going up to the front and shoving the man out of the way gently. She tapped the microphone a little, making sure it was going to work for her, then looked at all of them. "It's obvious you don't. She had _two_ children, and the apple of _her_ eye was my little brother, Kiba."

A few people stiffened at the name.

"He's gay."

Nearly everyone in the audience went completely stiff.

Hana smiled. "My mother told me to keep my mouth shut as her Bible Study group leader gave her eulogy, but if you're not going to get my mother right at all, then what's the point of giving a eulogy?"

That same woman in the back stood. "We are remembering the good things!"

Hana smiled. "No one's perfect. I suppose all of you would like to know how my mother was addicted to heroin for a year? She couldn't even stop when she was pregnant with me, because her withdrawals were too intense to allow her to stop cold turkey. Anyone care to know that my mother had the mouth of a sailor? Anyone care to know that all of your children came over to our house and swore their little lungs out because my parents didn't give a shit?"

"D-Do not use that sort of language in the house of God! You should be ashamed of yourself!" The woman grew very flustered. "This is about all the good she did, not the bad!"

"Her greatest joy in life was _not_ giving birth to me. Her greatest joy in life was when _Kiba_ was born. Are you saying you're going to just skim over that and change it because you think that's bad of her? That she gave birth to a man who sleeps with other men?"

The man who had been giving the eulogy glared at her. "Do _not_ stand there and talk about such sin! Such _filth_!"

Hana wheeled on him. She whirled around, narrowing her eyes at him. "Then my _mother_ if filth for giving birth to filth! My mother did drugs, could drink my Dad under the table, had the mouth of a sailor and took no shit from anyone! I'll be _damned_ if I let her take shit like this at her own fucking funeral! What the hell do you know about us!? What the hell do you know about Kiba!? It's obvious you know _jackshit_ about my mother because everything that comes from your mouth is a big fanciful lie! And you all _wonder_ why she didn't start going to church until she found out she was dying!? My mother was the type of person that viewed people like you as 'fucking preachies'!"

Hana burst out laughing as everyone in the audience stood, starting to grow incredibly angry.

"What language!"

"Get her off the stage!"

"How rude!"

"She's fucking right!"

Everyone turned to see a mess of bleached-white hair and chains and piercings making his way toward the casket. Ukon grinned at all of them, leaning on the casket a little. The woman in the back shouted something at him and he gave her the finger. This just sent the room into an uproar.

He jumped onto the stage, taking the pulpit over. "She's right, you know! None of you knew Ms. Inuzuka enough to give her a proper eulogy! I'd like to thank her for teaching me all the swears I'd ever want to use in my life. I'd also like to thank her for totally overlooking all of us kids when we went out back behind the general store and smoked weed. That woman wasn't a saint, but she was a hell of a lot more charming than you mindless saps! A more fitting eulogy for someone as wonderful as Ms. Inuzuka would be… The bitch is dead. She was a good bitch, and her litter loved her very much. That runt of a son took it hardest, but in the end he's going to come around."

He leaned over to Hana, smiling. "By the way, I never told you I had a major crush on you when I was nine." He looked back at the pulpit, throwing his hand in the air playfully, heiling Hitler. A few people gasped, and he jumped down and took a spot next to Kiba. Kiba glanced at him, his mouth opening.

"You don't have to thank me, Kiba. I told you I'd show up. I promised your mother if Hana did something drastic that I'd help her out and draw the attention away."

"You…you liked my _sister_ when you were nine? You said you liked my _Mom_."

"…Are you _kidding_ me? Both of them were smokin' hot! I _still _can't decide who's hotter!"

The Bible Study leader shoved Hana out of the way. "Excuse me, but this is a funeral, Ukon! Don't come in here looking for–"

"Oh shut up, Grandpa! You knew Sakon was fucking Kiba! You've got no right to judge Ms. Inuzuka!"

The man went red in the face, and he fought for words, while Hana shoved him out of the way again. "None of you are fit to even walk by my mother's casket! Get the hell out of here!"

The woman in the back started to shout until the pastor came over, taking the pulpit, his voice out-shouting them all.

"It's been a tough time for these two, everyone! I think it'd be best to respect their wishes and leave. You can all go visit her grave if you want to, but I can't have such chaos at a funeral."

People stared at him, looking like they wanted to say more, until finally they all started to leave. Ukon prodded Kiba in the ribs, smiling a little.

"Hey, man… Cheer up, alright? Now you'll be able to go and look at your mom one last time before she's six feet under…"

Kiba swallowed the urge to puke. Hana was coming down the stairs next to him, and she put that stitched hand against his cheek, smiling. "Come on, Kiba…I think Mom would like to say good-bye to you just as much as you want to say good-bye to her…"

Kiba stood shakily, shaking his head. "I…I'm not saying good-bye…"

The pastor went over beside them, patting Kiba on the shoulder. "She looks just as strong as she was when she was healthy."

Kiba looked up at him, eyes wide. "Wh-What?"

"She looks just as strong as she was when she was healthy. She looks like she was never sick at all." His hand moved to Kiba's back, and he gently led him forward. "She loved you very much. She was always coming to me and asking me to pray for you personally."

Kiba's heart leapt in his chest. Shit. His mom…praying for him… That was so weird. She'd always told him religion was for those who had no inner strength, for those that were lost, for those that wanted something to believe in. She'd…fallen right into that, too. It was like a disease. It was…

Something flowery hit his nostrils and he looked over into the casket that was now suddenly right in front of him. It wasn't borage, what was that smell? It was… He took a big whiff, absorbing the information. Rosemary–remembrance, fidelity. But why…why didn't she have her other perfume on her?

Hana went over, taking in the scent and frowning. "What the hell? It was supposed to smell like borage… What…that…that's not her perfume at all…" She turned to the pastor. "Why?"

He nodded his head. "She _did_ request her perfume, but for some reason this wound up here instead."

Kiba's face fell. "What the…fuck…" His head fell to the ground, and he started to shake. Hana put a hand on his shoulder, worried. He tossed her off of him, throwing his hands in the air and slamming the lid of the coffin shut.

"You cunt! I needed you most and you just left me like that! How dare you!? You say your death has a _reason_!?" He slammed his fists on her coffin again. "Where!? If there's a reason to it, then why haven't I seen it!? It's just like you said back when we were kids! All of this is _bullshit_! There's no reason to any of this, is there!? There's no reason at all!"

Hana put a hand to her mouth, her eyes softening, going misty. "K-Kiba…there's…there's no reason to be angry like this…"

He wouldn't hear it. "In the end your death was just as useless as your life! I hate you, you stupid ugly cunt!"

Ukon glared, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Kiba, don't say that."

He whirled on him, knocking into one of the pews. "Why the hell not!? I've been suffering for almost an entire week, riding on this big _reason_ of hers! My one hope being that I could smell her one last time! That I could kiss her cheek just like I used to! She's obviously a complete idiot! God screwed her over, Ukon! What kind of god does that!? This is _bullshit_! It's all just lies Mom bought into because she was weak!! There _is_ no reason for her death! She just got sick and died! Dust to dust! It's all over!"

He kicked her coffin, swearing loudly again. "Fuck you, you cunt! I hate you!" His hands were trembling, and he finally rested them on the casket, staring at it, tears pricking at his eyelashes. After a long time he started to speak, his voice back to that lackluster one he'd carried with him all week.

"How could you? I needed you… You were supposed to give me advice on Shino… You were supposed to be there for me… How could you just leave me behind like that? I didn't even get to see you alive one last time… I…I'm…just…" He shut his eyes and turned back around. "I'm not even going to give you the satisfaction of crying for you. This whole trip was pointless. Everything is just…pointless. Why the hell do I even bother getting so worked up over this?"

There was a loud bark from outside the church, and his blood froze. Hana's eyes flickered, turning to the door to the church. "…They're…" She put her hands over her mouth and nose, fighting tears. "Oh thank God…"

Before any of them could even react, Akamaru came running through the door, barking and barking and barking until finally he reached Kiba. He knocked him over, barking at him angrily, and Kiba just stared at him, face pale. He raised his hand finally and rubbed his dog's ears numbly. Akamaru gave him a big lick on the face, obviously forgiving him, and jumped off.

Kiba stayed laying there for what fell like a full minute before he slid to his feet. He swore, staring at the man standing in the doorway to the church, that face completely blank, the sunglasses nowhere to be seen. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stormed over, anger swelling in his chest.

The first thing his fist met was Shino's face, and Shino went tumbling backward, almost comically surprised. Kiba's voice rose again, practically shouting. "What the hell are you doing here!? Go back to the city where you belong and stop bugging me, you fucking pest!"

Shino looked back at him, a horrified look on his face. As he wiped some blood trickling from his nose, he slowly stood to his feet and went over toward Kiba. He held his hands out a little. "You left Akamaru at home and all of your things are gone. I didn't think you were coming back…"

"No shit, Shino! How long did it take you realize _that_!?"

"…But…Akamaru…"

"He's a big boy! He can take care of himself! What the hell are you _doing_ here!?" Juugo slipped in the door behind Shino, but the brunette just ignored him. "What reason could you _possibly_ have to come down here!?"

Shino's voice was quiet. "…Because you weren't coming back."

He laughed, tears making their way to his eyes. "What!? And you think that just because _you_ come down here and beg me I'm going to suddenly want to leave!? My mother left me the house and the acre of land behind it! I'm going to stay here!"

"But there are people who need you back home."

"Who gives a shit!? I'm staying here, so you might as well just give up and go back!"

"You can't stay here forever." He took another step toward him, and Kiba took a step backward.

"I can and will!"

Shino sighed, shaking his head. "You will get over her, Kiba. And when you do, you're going to regret leaving all of your old friends behind…"

Kiba glared, wiping at his eyes, trying to keep the shudder from his voice. "W-What do _you_ know!? You never knew your mother! You have no memories of her! I have some thirty years worth of memories of mine, and they'll never leave me! Do you know how _I _feel!? No! How could you _possibly_ know how I feel, Shino!?"

The taller man finally walked over toward him, holding his arms out. His face was patient; his voice, timid. "I know you need someone to help you through this. I know Hana isn't the one you need right now. You need someone close, but not family. You need a friend. I'm pretty sure you need _me_, Kiba."

Kiba swore. "I don't need _you_! I hate_–_" His nostrils flared, and his mother's perfume filled his nostrils. Tears immediately started pouring from his eyes. He put a hand to his mouth, staring at the man in front of him. He took a step toward the taller man, his free hand throwing open that infernal trench coat. He put a hand on Shino's chest, taking in the scent that seemed to be coming from the man's coat pocket.

He leaned his face closer, taking in a big whiff. His hand flew from his mouth, seizing the pocket and nearly tearing it open as he reached inside for the object in there. He ripped out a letter–one from his mother. He looked up at Shino, his face falling, eyebrows knitting together, his eyes narrowing a little. "Wh-Why do you have this?"

Shino was just as calm about the whole thing as before–in fact, he was starting to look a bit detached from the whole situation. That was to be expected–he was terrible at interacting with people, Kiba especially. "Juugo found it. You forgot to bring it with you."

Kiba stared at it, wiping at his eyes pitifully. "I…I forgot all of them…I…" He sobbed, dropping the letter and burying his face in his hands. "God, I'm so stupid! Those letters were the things I needed to bring the most and I forgot to bring them!"

Shino wrapped his arms around him, sighing. "You had a lot on your mind, I'm sure. It's okay." The man he was holding started growing heavy, and he lowered himself along with Kiba to his knees. They stayed there on the floor, Kiba bawling like a baby and Shino letting him cry on his shoulder.

The five on the sidelines stared at them for the longest time, until Hana turned to Juugo, tears in her eyes. She was smiling. "Thank you so much for coming, Juugo. Kiba really needed this…"

Juugo just returned the smile, putting an arm around her waist and wiping one of the tears off her cheek. "He wasn't the only one, apparently."

She chuckled, wrapping her arms around him and giving him a hug. "He wasn't." She sighed, finally feeling at peace for the first time since she got there.

"…You forgot something back at your place…"

She pulled back, staring at him for a short moment. "I…didn't. At least, I don't think I did. What is it?"

He reached into his pocket, his tongue poking out a little as he fumbled around nervously for it. His cheeks went slightly pink as he pulled the box out, handing it to her. She took it, opening it and smiling softly when she saw what was inside. "Oh…it's my great grandmother's engagement ring. Mom gave it to me shortly before I left for the city." She looked up at Juugo, smiling. "Thank you. This brings back a lot of happy memories for me."

Juugo stared at her, the queerest expression of worry and confusion on his face. His cheeks darkened, and he rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "…Uh…y-yeah." The three men to the side stared at the two in amusement, until finally Akamaru let out a gruff "arf!"

The pastor cleared his throat a little, and Hana looked over at him, smiling. "Yes?" He turned his hands over again, trying to tell her with his eyes what was going on. She just gave him a puzzled look, looking back at the ring and completely misunderstanding what he had been trying to say. "Oh. It was my great grandmother's on my mother's side, actually. My great grandmother passed it down to my grandmother, and then she passed it down to my mother who passed it down to me."

Ukon stifled a laugh, slamming a hand over his face. "H-Hana…you're supposed to wear it."

She glared. "No. I'm supposed to wear it when I get engaged. I'm not engaged yet, Ukon. Sheesh. You're just as much of a brat when you were nine." She turned to Juugo, a smile making its way to her face again.

"Thank you, again. I missed you so much, Juugo. I didn't know what I was going to do. I love you so much."

The pastor and Ukon just exchanged looks. Ukon hid a smile behind his hand, biting his lip a little and finally managing a snicker. "Poor guy. He must be so flustered."

Hana turned back. "Do you _mind_?" Juugo grabbed her hand, and she looked at him, frowning. "What?"

He leaned down and seized her in a kiss, bending her backward so far she had to stick her leg up to retain her balance. He pulled her back up, staring down at her, eyes swirling with more emotion than was normally in them. He cheeks were burning, and he looked a little more than upset, like he'd had just snapped slightly. "You love me, right? Then wear the ring. How am I supposed to make this any clearer to you, Hana??" He shook a little, trying to find his center. Akamaru pressed himself up against the bear of a man, and the man finally calmed down. He took a deep breath, putting a hand on her cheek.

"I'm asking you to marry me, dear."

Hana's eyes widened and she went red. "W-Well why didn't you say so earlier!? I'm _thirty-six_, Juugo! I _need_ to marry before I'm unable to have children! Lord knows Kiba won't be able to carry on the family name!! I mean…" She looked down at the box in her hands, staring at that ring. "I know we've only been dating for three weeks and it seems utterly ridiculous, but there's really nothing that makes more sense than this!" She looked up at him. "I want to be your wife! Sure I met you while trying to put you in prison, but damn it, I want to be your wife! I'm sure Mom would've found the very idea heart-warming…"

His eyes widened. "R-Really? You aren't going to back down later?"

She smiled, rolling her eyes a little; her tone breached sarcastic. "You're talking to an Inuzuka, Juugo. We don't know _how_ to back down." She leaned over, putting a hand on his chest lovingly. "Plus, I'm actually _ready_ to be married. My parents weren't and even they managed to have a loving relationship. It _will_ work with us, because we both need each other… Right?"

Juugo's cheeks darkened, and he leaned over and kissed her again. "Right."

Ukon snapped his fingers. "Rats. And I had hoped you'd look my way after you saw how much I'd grown…" Hana turned and gave him a cold look, and Juugo's eyes hardened considerably. They were clearly the eyes of someone who'd killed before, and Ukon didn't need to even hear the prosecutor and prosecuted rebuke him to know he was messing with the wrong woman. He smiled a little. "To be honest, I told her Mom if she wasn't married by forty I'd just kidnap her and make her my wife instead."

Juugo's voice was stiff. "…She's not forty, _is_ she?" Ukon shook his head, and Juugo looked back at Hana, grabbing her just a bit possessively. After a while, he glanced over at the pastor with mild interest. He glanced at Hana, and Hana exchanged the look knowingly. She leaned over.

"I don't want a big wedding, but at least try to control yourself until Kiba gets out of this rut…"

They both nodded, and Ukon rubbed his head. "Geez, Hana, your taste in men sure is strange… Not only does he seem dreadfully unbalanced, but he's not even that _great_ looking…" He glanced over at the two men still by the entrance to the church, still sitting there–Kiba crying, Shino comforting him.

He suppressed the urge to laugh. "Then again, your brother's taste in men isn't much better."

* * *

_Yay! Now for the sneak peek at the next chapter!  
_

_Here's what you'll all see in the next chapter:_

_:A mature rating  
:A whopping 13,000plus words  
:A joke out of a youtube video–Ramen: Feel Great (BABIES!)  
:Shino has a wet dream (Hence: Mature)  
:Hinata finally tells Naruto how she feels  
:Naruto has a forehead fetish  
:Hanabi is a snarky bitch  
:Sakura throws Kankurou a curve ball  
:Kankurou is a bitter bastard and screws Shikamaru over unknowingly  
:The Uchiha brothers fight over which is better–Star Wars or Star Trek  
:Itachi fathers seventeen children and then threatens to take a hammer to Sasuke's pussy  
:Sasuke says "fuck" twenty-one times (I counted.)  
:Neji admits his orientation  
:Sasori finally finishes his masterpiece…and gets screwed over by Kankurou, who knows exactly what he's doing there  
:I like Dei-seme and Saso-uke (Hmmm…wonder how Shino and Kiba will do things…)  
:Kiba gets just as hormonal as Shino did in Chapter 15 (Not like he isn't in this one, but Shino actually calls him out on it.)  
:Hana and Juugo don't show up in the next chapter  
:Shikamaru, TenTen, and Chouji don't either_


	20. Thank You!

_Yay! My twentieth chapter. I decided I'd do something special. I know in that sneak peek I said it would be over 13,000plus words…but it wound up being over 15,000! Yowza! I really outdid myself. O:_

_I took a look at what my main reviewers like and from what I've gotten in reviews, and I decided to piece this thing together. I hope you like what you see here. I'm dedicating it to you all. If I didn't get anything you liked, please forgive me. I hope the chapter's multi-faceted moods makes up for it._

_It's going to be kind of funny, kind of sad, kind of sexy and kind of fluffy, hopefully. _

_Not all of it is going to be going on in the same day. Because of that, I made sure to make it very clear. They all take place BEFORE the funeral. Just so you know. (Minus the very last Kiba and Shino one. That takes place after the funeral.)_

_HA. When I was writing the part about Chouji, HIM's "Wings of a Butterfly" started to play. Then, in the part where Kankurou makes a prime appearance, Thousand Foot Krutch's "Puppet" started to play. My Media Player is always throwing me pleasant little surprises._

_Sure, most of these little snippets don't contribute to the ShinoKiba part of the story, but trust me, they are all needed in their own way. I may be making two sequels. One that deals with Shikamaru, and the other will be centered around Sakura. At first I had Shikamaru's sequel first, but that was before Sakura's story worked its way in my head. In the end, Shikamaru's sequel was bumped after that, because it makes it more meaningful for all of his friends to be moving forward and him just standing still._

_But. Just know. Despite the fact that there's barely ShinoKiba in this, it really does move the story in the direction I want it to go and set itself up for the sequels, because I'm really digging this alternate universe bit._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 20_

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Friday. 9:03 P.M.  
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Naruto slicked back his hair, trying to straighten his tie and keep the bouquet of flowers in his hand at the same time. Wow. Mr. Hyuuga had asked him to marry his daughter! This was going to be wonderful! He remembered Hinata from college. She was always so quiet and well-behaved, never speaking out of turn, a blush always on her cheeks whenever he saw her. If he married her, his chances of becoming mayor would increase tenfold! Her father was one of the most powerful people in the city!

After a moment he frowned, stuffing the bouquet between his legs and whipping out a comb from his pocket. He combed back his hair, making sure to whip out a mirror and check to make sure he didn't have anything stuck between his teeth. Just as he was about to put it away and do the old "puff-and-sniff" with a free hand, the door opened.

The woman in the doorway stared at him for a moment before noticing the bouquet nestled against his trousers. She hid a smile behind her hand. "There better not be a surprise when my sister goes to accept those from you…Mr. Uzumaki…"

His face went red and he dropped the mirror and comb, looking back at Hanabi Hyuuga, the younger sister. Hinata's younger sister was a math whiz–unlike Hinata's penchant for gardening and swing dancing and…good at math but not a whiz by any right–just as she was notorious for having a snippy attitude. He grabbed the bouquet out from between his legs, clearing his throat. "N-No. No I don't… I just–"

"I don't like you, Mr. Uzumaki."

Oh yes. She also had a really bad habit of speaking her mind, another direct contrast from her sister.

He frowned. "Oh…? Wh-Why not? Your father loves me!"

She gave him a long look, her eyes slowly narrowing. "I know. Which is why _he_ should be the one marrying you, Mr. _Naruto_. There's only one man _I_ would approve of for my sister, and that would be her ex-fiancée, Mr. Chouji Akimichi. He loved her more in a year than you could ever love her in a lifetime."

He stared at her for the longest time, wondering if that was all she had to say.

"He's twice the man you are, and he'd squash you."

Oh. Well. Hopefully she had said her piece and would shut up.

"He's also twice as romantic as you. And did I mention he could suffocate you just by sitting on your chest? You better watch out for him. He's…like…ten times bigger than you and could give you a run for your money. Plus he doesn't have a _darling_ reputation to worry about, so he could totally kick your ass without worrying what other people thought."

Any minute now… He waited. And waited. …And waited.

Hanabi just smiled, stepping back away from the door to let him in. "Why don't you come inside, shrimp?"

Ah! Finally.

Naruto stepped in the door, noticing he was only taller than her by about three inches as he passed, going into the living room and taking a spot on the couch. Damn, she was right. He _was_ a tad bit shorter than most men his age, wasn't he?

"Dad! The man you requested has arrived! He looks cheaper than the kind you normally go for! I'll bet you could pay him five for the full course!"

He _really_ didn't like Hinata's sister. Like, _at_ all.

Her father came down from the stairs, giving him a curt nod and glaring at his daughter. He took a spot in the chair across from the man, focusing his attention back to his main concern. "Naruto. My…eldest daughter just said she didn't mind marrying you, and I called you here because I want to make sure everything is okay with you. You'll have to forgive me for wanting to plan the entire thing out. I just want the best for my little girl. I've made all the preparations and decided on two months. Are you okay with that? Two months until the wedding?"

Naruto nodded his head, smiling. "Oh, yes! There's not a problem there, Mr. Hyuuga! Two months is perfect. The sooner the better!"

The much older man smiled at him, the creases in his face becoming more pronounced. "That's good. It's nice to see you love her very much, because…if you weren't absolutely certain on spending the rest of your life with her, I'd have to cancel the wedding."

"Oh, of…of course not, Mr. Hyuuga! I have…every intention of spending the rest of my life with her." He gave a forced smile, his mind screaming at him to get real. The rest of his life?? With _her_?? He was turning thirty in almost four months! He wasn't ready to get married at all! Maybe when he hit forty he could see himself having kids, but he wasn't even mayor yet! What if he had kids and had to give up becoming mayor for them!? He'd rather _die_!

And, not that she wasn't the perfect girl or anything, but she was too soft-spoken! He liked someone loud, charming and funny! Someone like… His mind went back to the woman of his dreams… She had the loveliest turquoise eyes. Such grace and power on stage. And that _forehead_! She had the loveliest forehead in the world! He'd gone to every one of her plays, eager to watch her perform! She may not have had a big rack, like Hinata, but she was nice and thin. And she was pretty strong, too! The way she gripped that paper in her hands tightly during that one play, and that one time the sandbag nearly fell on top of her during a play and she just palmed it to the side like it was nothing…

"N-Naruto…"

He ripped his mind away from his dream girl, his eyes turning to Hinata in front of him. She was a vision of beauty, her hair, which had been much longer in college, now hung closely cropped to her face. Her eyes were nice and big, her cheeks were flushed. She was wearing the prettiest lavender dress, and even had a sprig of lavender in her hair.

He handed her the flowers, and she took them without a word. "Hello, Hinata! I brought you some flowers. Would you care to join me for dinner? I assume that's why you chose to dress up?"

She nodded her head shyly, glancing back at her father and giving him a warm smile. When he returned it, she grabbed Naruto's hand and walked toward the door. "Y-Yes…"

Naruto smiled, taking the lead. As he closed the door behind him, he looked back, holding his arm up in the air. "Mr. Hyuuga! I will have her home around eleven! I'll make sure the restaurant is beyond perfect for your beautiful daughter!" He closed the door behind him, and Hinata's father just looked at the door, a sense of pride swelling in his chest. This match was _much_ more agreeable for his daughter.

"It's a pity you're blind to the emotions of women, Hiashi."

Hiashi glared, standing and peering around the corner of the stairs, where his younger daughter was in the dining room, a few papers scattered around the table and a pair of glasses pushed up her nose. She had a calculator in front of her and was performing some formula. He just sighed, his voice stiff.

"Why can't you be more like your sister, Hanabi? She knows how to keep her mouth shut. And she doesn't go around referring to me by my first name disrespectfully."

Hanabi didn't even look up at him when she muttered, "Perhaps it's time she learned when to speak her mind," darkly.

"What was that?"

"…I said she doesn't like Naruto, and it's incredibly obvious."

"She liked him in college. She said so herself when I hand-picked him for her!"

"Well, she doesn't like him _anymore_. Why do you insist that _she_ be the one to take over the company? You should know I'm more than willing to take over her job as heir to the company. Just because she's older, you refuse to even think it. Hell, even _Neji_ has been arguing with you over taking over the company. I'm sort of growing tired of you, old man…"

"You will not talk back to me like that! I am your father and the leader of this household! You will give me the respect I deserve!"

Hanabi stood, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes and going toward the stairs. She stood there by the banister for a while, looking at him reproachfully. They stared each other down, until Hanabi smiled, turning her eyes away. "I'm going to go take a shower, _Hiashi_."

She traipsed up the steps like a cat, looking quite pleased with her attempt to piss him off. He glared up at her, his voice bellowing. "You were so well-behaved until you hit high school! When will you grow out of this juvenile rebellious phase!?"

"When my sister learns to stick up for herself. Or when you finally let her do something _she_ wants," was all she said.

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Friday. 10:10 P.M.  
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"Hinata, would you mind if I asked you a personal question?"

Hinata took a small sip of the chardonnay she had, looking up at him, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "Y-Yes… W-We _are_ going to be married in two months, after all…"

"Why did you and Chouji break the engagement?"

Her face went bright red and she looked down at her plate, completely embarrassed. "Uh…that…that would be _too_ personal, N-Naruto…" After a short while, she looked up at him, biting her lip.

"I…I need to be honest with you, Naruto…" She looked down at her plate, feeling the heat rise to her chest, up to her face, up to her eyes. She didn't know what she'd do if he rejected her. Tears made their way to her eyes. She'd prepared for that. She'd planned on dinner to make some time for her to speak with him without her father watching. She took a deep breath, hoping everything would be fine. "I…I'm only marrying you for my f-father…"

Naruto stared at her, his jaw dropping. "You _still_ love Chouji, don't you!? Then…" He scratched the side of his face, catching himself. "Uh…well…actually… I'm really only marrying you for your father, too…" They both looked at each other, biting their lips and falling into an awkward silence.

After what felt like forever, Hinata sighed, dabbing at the tears threatening to fall down her face with her napkin. "W-Well…I…need to marry you…so…that's why I decided to go ahead with it. To…T-T-To forget about…" She caught the lump in her throat, before it caused the tears to start falling heavily. "…I just…need to marry you."

Naruto smiled a little, placing a hand over hers. "You're a wonderful woman, Hinata. I feel nothing but adoration for you. But…I don't love you as much as one should for the person they're going to marry. I need to marry you, too. But…just for the status…"

She choked back a laugh. "S-So…" She looked up at him, her lips curling into a smile. "I suppose we're both terrible people…"

Naruto laughed. "I…guess we are. Sorry, Hinata." He went back to his food, taking a few hungry bites of the spaghetti he'd ordered. He hated tomato sauce, but he wasn't too partial to their solution to his request, either–a splash of olive oil and a few sprigs of basil. Damn, he could've just gone back to his suite and snagged some ramen and it would've been more appealing than this fancy crap. He finally looked up, laughing.

"W- We're going to make the most screwed up married couple ever! I hope we never have kids, geez."

Hinata nodded her head slowly, looking back at her food and biting her lip. She wanted kids more than anything. Just not with Naruto. Sure, she'd loved him in college, but that had soon passed. And now…now she just couldn't get Chouji out of her mind.

Naruto turned back to his food, drifting into silence. He wanted lots of kids. Like…_five hundred_ of them. Okay, so maybe not that much, but he wanted at least five or six. Just to give them what he'd never gotten growing up. He looked up, his eyes soon passing by Hinata's head towards a splotch of pink and a wide stretch of pale skin before it reached a flash of turquoise. He resisted the urge to stand and instead leaned toward the center of the table, jaw dropping, trying to believe he was actually seeing what he was seeing.

There she was–his lovely foreheaded goddess! Who the hell was that with her!?

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"It's so refreshing to see you without that ridiculous hat on your head. Of course, at a restaurant this fancy, how you dress is _everything_…" Rolling her eyes, she looked back at the liver on her plate. She hated things that were too sweet, but she couldn't stand things that were as bitter as liver. Sure, it was okay…but it wasn't what she'd willingly eat. At least, not when she was playing a part. She took a drink of her beer, clearing her throat a little and leaning back in her chair, giving the man across from her a devilish smile. "Anyway…you've got such great potential. It's a shame you don't use it."

The man just looked at his own beer bitterly, still upset over that blasted meeting with the man he practically worshipped two weeks earlier. "Sakura, I already told you he said I had absolutely no talent when it came to _creating_."

Sakura gave him a soft look, her demeanor instantly changing. Her voice was soft, and she wiped at a tear forming at the corner of her eye. "Oh yes. I remember that now… It must've been so _hard_ for you, Kankurou…"

He just looked up at her wearily, brushing the brown hair from his eyes. "…Everything's always an act with you! It's as if you believe you're on the damn stage all hours of the day! I'll bet even _you_ don't even realize who you really are unless you're sleeping… Which you is the real you? I've been trying to figure it out the entire time I've known you, and I still haven't discovered it…"

"The entire time you've known me? Kankurou, we've known each other for seven months now. Ever since you did that one single little play with that small theatre I was with. Face it–you've probably already seen the real me countless of times!" Her inner self wanted to wring his neck. Could he not _see_ yet?? How could he not see the real her!? Shikamaru had seen through the act with a single glance!

"…You're probably right about that." He mumbled a little.

Sakura rolled her eyes, taking a drink of her beer. "Yeah, well you're no Shikamaru… He saw the real me after a single conversation."

Kankurou looked up at her, and she was surprised he looked a bit pissed off. "Who the hell is Shikamaru?"

She smiled at him, leaning over the table and giving him a bright grin. "Shikamaru is my new boy toy, if you must know… I discovered him at my new job. He's been to every one of my plays. And he lets me suck his–"

"Hey!" He went red, taking a big swig of beer and jabbing his fork in the veal on his plate. "Just…Just…not… Just shut your mouth." His hands were trembling slightly; she could see it. This was downright fun to watch–the bad ass Kankurou getting flustered at the mention of a little head.

'_Hell yeah!'_ She thought. _'He's totally into you, Sakura! Bring another one home!'_

At that moment, a man walked over, his face beaming. She looked up at him, her face falling. It was…Naruto Uzumaki. He'd been practically stalking her since he saw her first performance. She saw him in the audience at each play, no matter which troupe she performed with, no matter how discreet she thought she was. He was always trying to get her to autograph crap for him.

……Perfect.

He had his fists clenched at his side, a forced smile on his face. He glanced over at Kankurou, voice strained. "H-Hey, man… You mind if I speak with her for a moment?"

Kankurou's eyes narrowed. "Is your name Shikamaru?"

"N-No…" He went red, slightly hurt. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Surely you've heard of me…? I'm going to be mayor one day!"

Kankurou waved his hand. "Never in my life. Go ahead and talk to her. Though, I'll admit, it's a bit rude what you're doing. Scratch that–it's _very_ rude."

Naruto ignored him, turning his eyes to Sakura…and her forehead. "H-Hey! You're Sakura Haruno, right?? I'm a big fan! You've got so much stage presence in all of your plays. You have so much talent… Don't you remember me?? I'm your biggest fan!" Kankurou shot him a dirty look, clearly thinking that wasn't the case, until Sakura started to speak.

Sakura smiled, her cheeks turning bright pink. "You really think so?? Oh…thank you _so_ much. It's always so nice to meet a fan! And my _biggest_ fan? That's so wonderful!" Her heart was beating a mile a minute. As much as she hated to admit this guy was a creep, it was so flattering that he'd liked her acting enough to go to every show! She glanced at Kankurou out of the corner of her eye, noticing him shaking his head and smiling. Why the hell was he smiling? Why didn't he look angry??

There was a flicker in her eyes and she stood, shaking the blond's hand happily. "Oh! Thank you _so_ much, Mr…?"

"D-Didn't I already tell you? Like…countless numbers of times. After almost every play… And…even right now… It's Naruto!"

"Naruto! Thank you _so_ much for your support! It really means a lot to me!" She leaned over, giving him a tender kiss on the cheek. He practically melted, his cheeks flushing, his mouth opening in a big, dopey grin.

She brought it on home, making sure to rub her leg against his crotch. His face darkened and he stuttered, taking a few steps back. "S-S-S-Sakura! Uh…I…I, uh… I'm actually engaged…so…s-s-so…"

"Oh? That's a shame… I would've _loved_ to give you a chance……_cutie_."

He stormed off back to his table in a fluster; Sakura took her seat again, smiling at Kankurou and sticking a fork in the liver on her plate. She took a big bite, grabbing for her beer and taking a drink of it. Kankurou started to clap. She looked up suddenly, her eyes wide. What? Why was he clapping??

He smiled. "That was a stunning performance, Miss Haruno. I'll have to admit, I believed it at first…until I remembered the conversation you had with me. The one about that guy you felt was stalking you? The one with blonde hair and blue eyes. The one who showed up at all of your plays and asked you to sign a random article of clothing each time. I remember it vividly because you were so shaken by it, storming off stage after your part was over and you saw him in the audience again. You immediately went to me, hissing everything into my ear." He leaned over, crossing his hands together.

"Now. Why don't I get to the point of me inviting you out to dinner in the first place?"

'_Shit! How the hell could you forget about that conversation with him, you idiot!?'_ Her mind raced, the thought of ripping her own hair out vividly coming to mind.

Kankurou continued. "Come back to the theatre. You are probably the best actress I have seen around. There's a play I'm choreographing. The director wants _you_ to be the lead. No questions asked."

She shook her head, growing angry. "Kankurou, you can't be serious. I won't step foot in the theatre after they humiliated me like that! I audition for one Broadway play and the second I open my mouth to sing, they laugh in my face and tell me to get off the stage, their eyes looking at each other like they'd just listened to the sounds of a dying animal! No way in hell!"

"You won't…or you _can't_?"

She looked at him again, her cheeks darkening. She took a swig of beer, stuffing her face with liver again. She glared at him angrily, nearly choking on it and poking her fork in his direction. "I _could_ if I _felt_ like it! But I refuse to go back. They'd have to get down on their knees and _beg_ before I even _consider_ going back!"

Kankurou cleared his throat, standing and throwing his napkin on the table. He stood, walking over toward her.

She glared at him. "What the _hell_ are you doing?"

He dropped to his knees, looking up at her. He didn't say anything at all, just stared at her, his hands clenched together, pleadingly. Finally, after what felt like forever, he whispered. "Please."

"Oh…look at that. A marriage proposal!" A woman behind them said.

"That is so darling! I remember my husband did the same thing! He was so needy!" A woman beside the other burst out laughing.

A long time passed until the women's laughter dwindled off into silent observation. Finally, Sakura slapped him across the face, standing. "What the hell, Kankurou? You go and embarrass me in public!? No! I won't go back to the theatre! No matter how much the director of the play you're choreographing wants me to play the lead!" She threw her napkin in his face, stomping toward the entrance.

Before she even got a foot from the table, however, his hand reached out and grabbed her arm. She whirled around, nearly laughing at the sight of his hand grabbing her, the napkin still on his face, blinding him. He removed the napkin, standing and pushing her back in her seat.

"I've seen a glimpse into the real you, Sakura."

She stuttered. "O-Oh? You really have? What makes you say that? You said before you had no idea who the real me was."

He nodded, reaching into the bag hanging on his chair–he was probably the only man she'd ever met that actually carried around a man-bag with him–and whipping out a magazine. Her face paled, and she felt something settle at the pit of her stomach, like a lead weight.

He flipped through it, opening it up to the advice column from last month's _Love Quarterly for Her_. He sat down and slid it across the table, pointing to the letter–_her_ letter. He tapped it again, his face completely serious.

"I knew it was you the second I read it. _You_ are unable to step foot in the theatre."

She looked up at him, her eyes growing misty. She went quiet for a long time, staring at the magazine, until little drops of her tears started falling on it. "I'm a _great_ actress, Kankurou. But I fail at being musically inclined." She buried her face in her hands. "I am so ashamed of myself. I can't even land _one_ audition in anything involving music. I decided I'd try a regular theatre producing a musical, and they gave me the same look and told me to get off the stage. Broadway isn't an option for me. I highly doubt you can understand what it feels like to want something so bad and only to find out you're lacking one of the biggest things required to accomplish it…"

"I do, Sakura. I really do. So please, for me. Don't waste what talent you _do_ have on another dead-end job. Or better yet, prove those bastards wrong. I know you have it in you. I've heard you singing to yourself off-stage. Your voice isn't great, but it's not _terrible_, either."

For a long time she sat there, taking deep breaths, until finally she looked up at him, smiling. He groaned, seeing that playful gleam in her eyes again. And here he thought she was being serious for once. Well, that blew all of his theories on her real self out the window. "Kankurou…what are you doing reading _Love Quarterly for __**Her**_, hmmm? You got something you want to tell me?" She laughed when he went red again. "You honestly think I'd be enough of a priss to send a letter into an _advice column_ for some cheesy romance magazine? _Please_, Kankurou. Do you know how many people in this city have tried out for Broadway and completely failed? What makes you think _that_ column is mine just by what it says?" She took a swig of beer, leaning back in her chair as if nothing had ever happened.

He stared at her, realizing she was absolutely right. He sighed again, rubbing his brown hair and staring down at his plate, completely embarrassed. "You really are the greatest actress I have ever known, Sakura. And here I thought I actually got to see the real you for a moment…" He sighed. "But I got down on my knees and begged. So, that means you should come back to the theatre, right?"

"I said I'd _consider_ it. Right now I'm too busy helping out Shikamaru at work."

He looked back at her, eyes narrowing. "Do I even _want_ to know what you help him with?"

"He has urges only one woman can satisfy, Kankurou. I simply give him what he desires." She laughed. "Today we _totally_ hooked up in the men's restroom. Not really hooked up, but _sucked_ up, if you get my meaning."

Kankurou went red, clenching his fist. "God damn it, Sakura. I'm starting to worry this side of you is the real side…"

She laughed, pushing her finger to her lip and looking at him innocently. Her voice heightened considerably, and she made her cheeks go pink. "Oh…? Maybe I'm just as well-behaved as you're hoping, Kankurou… Perhaps you'd like to change that…?"

He glared, raising his hand in the air, getting their waiter's attention. "Check, please." The waiter hurried to go get their check, and he cleared his throat. "As for Shikamaru, I wouldn't trust him. He's not just _your_ boy toy. He also happens to be my sister's."

Sakura's face dropped. "…_Really_ now?" Her eyes narrowed. "Well, he's not too bad at acting either, is he…?"

Kankurou smiled to himself. Ah. Good. Just what he needed. Sakura would break it off with Shikamaru, and he'd have a better chance of pulling her out of that shithole. He wasn't going to let anyone else star as the lead in _his_ play, especially when it was about _her_. It was his baby, and he was going to prove Sasori wrong. He could create. He could create something _so good_, not even Sasori himself would be able to say otherwise! And since it was going to have a hell of a lot of influences in kabuki, Sasori would be practically working himself to death producing enough puppets for it. Maybe if it got too much for him, he'd beg for some help…

Kankurou was quite the little actor himself. And when he wanted something, he'd get it. And right now, the only thing he wanted was right in front of him, eating liver and drinking the cheapest beer the restaurant served.

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Friday. 11:37 P.M.  
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Naruto went to the door, opening it slowly, and was surprised to find her father still sitting in the living room. He turned and looked at them, a smile passing over his face. He stood, holding his arms out. "…How was it, Hinata? Did you enjoy yourself as much as I thought you would?"

She walked over slowly, going toward him and going up on her tippy-toes, giving him a kiss on each cheek. "I-It was a wonderful evening, father…"

When he was satisfied that she was telling the truth, he nodded his head. Naruto walked into the entryway, smiling and watching the two. He always wished he could've known what it felt like to have the love of a father. Sure, there had been Iruka until middle school and Jiraiya into high school, but they hadn't been his real father. There was a soft cough to his left, and he turned to look over toward the dining room.

There was Hanabi, sitting at the table. She looked like she'd just taken a shower. Her hair was still wet, all dark and lengthy, hanging down to the end of her back. She had on a simple pair of shorts and a loose-fitting camisole. There was a pair of kitty slippers on her feet, and she had a pair of glasses pushed up the bridge of her nose. She had her face buried in a book.

He swallowed, spying the headband pulling her hair back away from her… He gulped even further, going slightly pink and turning his eyes away. Hiashi walked over, shaking his hand firmly.

"I look forward to calling you son, Naruto. It's about time Hanabi had a brother. Maybe then she'll learn to keep her thoughts to herself."

He smiled back at him, nodding his head, unable to find the idea of becoming her brother appealing at all. "I…I w-w-won't let you down, sir."

Hiashi patted him against the back, motioning toward the door. "Of course you won't, of course you won't. Hanabi! Hinata! Let's at least see our guest off." Hinata walked over, kissing Naruto lightly on the cheek and taking a step back next to her father.

And that's when Hanabi walked over, smiling that cat-like smile of hers. She practically purred. "How about a goodnight kiss from me, _big_ _brother_…?" She twisted a matted lock of her hair around her finger.

Naruto turned away, going beet red. "G-G-Good-bye, Mr.—I mean…D-_Dad_! I'll…I'll see you later!" He stormed out to his car as the door shut behind him.

The second he got into his car, he stared at the dashboard, taking a deep breath of the ramen he still had in a cup in one of the cup holders, relaxing a little. …Maaaaybe he didn't hate Hinata's sister _so_ much. After all, she had a lovely forehead, too…

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Saturday. 12:21 A.M.  
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Neji yawned, waving toward Sasuke a little as they parted ways. Wow. He never thought Sasuke would've lived in his apartment complex. That just made things easier with this whole business deal. Inspiration had struck sometime around nine and Sasuke had stopped by and demanded they go out for a drink. One thing led to another and soon he was dancing again. Sasuke wasn't too pleased with that.

He really needed to stop that–busting a move for really no reason at all other than the fact that he fell in time with the music. He was just embarrassed that he used Sasuke as a make-shift strip pole this time. He was pretty sure by how much Sasuke was yelling at him that the other man was just as embarrassed.

"I'll see you sometime later, Sasuke. Hopefully this won't happen again…"

Sasuke simply nodded, pushing the other man who was a little too drunk out of the elevator and ramming his finger against the button for his floor.

"It _better_ not happen again. I'm not my brother, music-freak."

The elevator went up two floors and stopped, and Sasuke got off. He went over to the door of his apartment and fumbled around looking for the keys. He swore…this whole Neji thing was working out better than he'd hoped…minus the fact the man drank too much and danced too much. Forget drinking and driving, Neji should've been arrested for drinking and _dancing_. Dancing under the influence. Sheesh. He pretty much palmed people when he danced, poking and prodding at them, pushing them out of his way, making more room for his leg sweeps and kicks. What the hell. Neji wasn't dancing so much as kicking ass. Despite the fact that it was aggravating, it _was_ kind of cool to see him dance like that.

He opened the door to his apartment, opening the door and stepping in. He closed the door behind him, surprised to see the collector's case of his Trek DVD's knocked onto the floor, all of the DVD's scattered all over the ground. Again.

"Damn it, Whiskers. I thought I locked you up in my room this time…"

He glared, storming over and opening the door to his bedroom. There were about twelve cats on the bed, and he knew most of them crawled in from outside. He really needed to stop letting just any old cat into his apartment. But they were all just so _cute_. Except for the one he so cleverly named "Papa". It had an infected eye and mange in its fur, and half of its tail was missing, along with an ear and a leg. Papa was the worst of them all. And ugly as _crap_.

But. Papa needed someone kind to take care of him, and he wasn't going to refuse a cat the comfort of his home just for being ugly.

"Hey, all of you better get out of here."

One of the cats lifted its head to yawn, looking over at him tiredly. Its fur was a mess of curls, it being the type of cat that had curls in everything, including…yes, its whiskers. "Whiskers, when did you learn to open the window?" The cat merely yawned again, getting up. The second the cat had stood, all of the other cats started to go toward the window, knowing they'd overstayed their welcome.

Whiskers went to the window, pawing at the turning mechanism for locking it in place. When that was done, she pushed her head against it, causing it to open out. All of the cats dashed out, back to their alleys.

"God damn it, Whiskers. What am I going to do with you? I saw how you knocked over all of my Star Trek DVD's. I'm very mad."

The cat merely looked at him, a smile on its maw. She licked at her paw, and Sasuke sighed.

"Well…as long as you don't knock over my collector's edition VHS tapes, I'll forgive you. Let's go get you some milk. Perhaps we have some more of your little friends waiting at the kitchen window."

The cat waited for him to pick her up, and he petted her a little, letting her rub against his chin affectionately. He picked her up in his arms, grumbling a little. "Geez, I spoil you way too much. Sometimes I wonder if you belong to me or if it's the other way around…" In his heart, he knew the real answer to that. This was a cat, not a dog. He belonged to the animal, not the other way around. Once she was nestled in his arms and biting at his arm for them to get moving, they set out on their own little trek to the kitchen. He let her jump out of his arms onto the counter where she sat patiently, waiting for her saucer of milk and the tin of tuna he was going to put out after she threw a yowling tantrum.

He went to the window in the kitchen, where there were about four cats purring and rubbing against the window. He smiled, letting them in and pouring a saucer of milk. They set to lapping up milk from it, and he rubbed his hand against the ginger-coloured one. That one was his favorite after his little Whiskers. Whiskers was the only cat he officially owned. All the rest were strays.

Whiskers shot him a dirty look and he rolled his eyes, grabbing another saucer and pouring the special milk just for her. She went for it, lapping up the milk. It was nice; her pet had even bought her special milk from the pet store that imitated mother's milk for cats. He was such a _good_ pet.

After she was done with that, the other cats had finished theirs and had started wandering around the counter. One hiss from her was all it took for them to go straight back to the window, leaping out so they could find the fire stairwell and go back down the alley they lived in. He rubbed his hand against her back, finally curling his finger against her tail.

"You jealous, Whiskers?"

She let out a rather loud meow, and he sighed, going to the refrigerator again. "Oh. You want your tuna."

_Knock………Knock._

He froze, knowing that knock well. He hurried over toward the television, grabbing the DVD's and shoving them under the couch. He looked around, spying all of his Star Trek memorabilia and grabbing it, storing it away in the closet.

Whiskers was still yowling, but he could care less about that. He went to the door, opening it and glaring at the much taller man in front of him.

"Itachi. What are you doing here? I told you if you showed up here again I'd file for a restraining order."

Itachi game him a calm smile, looking around into his brother's apartment. "I just came by because a little birdie told me you were getting involved with yet _another_ co-worker."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "The only co-worker I have ever dated was that psycho Karin, and I broke it up after the first date. Okay, and there was Ino_…_but that lasted an hour before her voice got on my nerves and I left her at the restaurant. Your 'little birdie' is obviously singing the wrong tune…"

"What about…Neji Hyuuga?"

Sasuke glared even more, his voice clearly showing that Itachi had struck a nerve. How _dare_ he accuse him of something so _beneath _him… "No. I'm not into men, you idiot, and _especially _not someone as scattered as Neji. You should know that by now. The only one for me is…"

"Your pussy?"

He glared at him, slamming the door on his face. "Get lost, you…you…you stupid poohead!"

The apartment returned to silence, and he went back to the kitchen, opening and slamming the tin of tuna back onto the counter angrily. What the hell was that all about? He thought for _sure_ Itachi had gotten to Juugo and Suigetsu and talked them out of being his business partners. After all, why the hell had they stopped calling him? Neji was his last resort if he was ever going to beat his brother. Aside from Orochimaru…but he knew well that Orochimaru had actually walked out on Itachi when he was starting a business with the snake-obsessed man, so he wanted to avoid that as much as possible. If it came to that, _he'd_ be the one screwing the man over, not the other way around.

There was a sound from the bedroom, and he froze. His head turned, slowly, only for him to nearly scream out loud at the sight of Itachi in the doorway to his bedroom, leaning against the frame and looking more than just a little put-off.

"How the _fuck _did you get into my apartment!?"

Itachi rolled his eyes. "I scaled the wall and climbed in through a window." Sasuke just stared at him, and Itachi smiled, tossing his hand at him. "I used the fire stairwell. I'm surprised you didn't hear me come up. All of those footsteps, not to mention it creaks like its going to topple at any minute. I'd hate to think it would collapse easily in the event of a fire…"

He smiled, walking in and looking at the television. "You still have a ways to go. Poohead?" He put a hand to his chest. "How your words hurt me, little brother… I remember that particular insult hurt me just as bad when you were four…"

Sasuke's face went red, and he crossed his hands over his chest. "Faggot."

Itachi raised a finger at him, looking much more upset than before. "All you'll succeed in calling me that is a punch to the gut and a tear in that little Trekkie outfit you wear to conventions. Hardly worth the satisfaction, wouldn't you agree?"

Sasuke's jaw locked in place, his voice was stiff. "H-H-How did you know about the conventions?"

"A little birdie told me. One quick screw and he was singing his lungs out. Who is it, Sasuke? Who's the one you're playing with this time? I'd _really_ like to know." He stepped over, pushing Sasuke against the wall, his breath cold against the younger sibling's forehead.

"You can tell me…"

Sasuke's eyes just darkened. "N-No! I'm not telling you shit! What I do is my own business!"

Itachi smiled. "I have a feeling you've just gotten a break-through idea… Tell me what it is. You can never beat me at my own game, little brother. Especially not when you lack hatred."

Sasuke responded, laughing out loud. "Star Wars, _much_? As if. The Darkside? You sack of crap! Star Trek is ten times better than that shit!"

Itachi's face fell; he looked angry. "It's _not_ shit. George Lucas is a _genius_."

"Yeah, like the most recent three movies? Talk about _shit_! Sure they had great effects, but the plot was _terrible_! Good versus evil?? We've seen it all before! The heroes are heroes, the villains are villains! There's no spice! You don't see Luke Skywalker being as much of a sex icon as Captain Kirk! Star Trek is ten times better!"

His brother took a deep breath, pointing a finger in his face. "You're going to take that back."

"I'm not."

"Of course, you fail to realize that Han Solo is ten times more of a sex icon than Captain Kirk ever _could_ be, but enough about this stupid little debate over which science fiction series is better. I want to know what big idea has made you suddenly go all secretive from your previous business partners." He was starting to look a bit peeved. "You're going to tell me."

Sasuke smiled right at him, his eyes narrowing spitefully. He waved his hand in front of his brother's face, practically purring. "These aren't the droids you're looking for…"

Itachi shoved him against the wall and pulled back, glaring. "You are so full of shit, _Sauce_-gay. Tell me what you're planning right now. I'm sure Neji would enjoy hearing how much of a geek you are… He'd _definitely_ want to work with you then."

"Neji gets drunk and clubs as a hobby. I'm fairly certain my hobby is _much_ less pathetic than his. I'm not giving you jackshit. Now get the fuck out of my apartment, Itachi."

Itachi smiled, stroking his brother's cheek. "I have ways of making you talk, dear brother…"

Sasuke's eyes went wide. "You _wouldn't_…"

Itachi's grin split across his face. "I _would_. I've wanted to do this for a long time…"

––––––––––––––––––

_Crunch._

Sasuke screeched, hurling swears at his brother like they were throwing knives. "You fucking piece of fuck, you fuck! AH! Fuck you, you fucking fuckface! FUCK!! That was fucking autographed by William Shatner!! I'm going to fucking _kill_ you the second I get out of these fucking ropes!!"

"Why _are_ you so upset, Sasuke? You're throwing such a hissy-fit. I'll stop breaking your little Star Trek collector's items when you tell me what I want to know…" He dusted all of the plastic pieces off the table. "It was just a dinky little plastic phaser you bought off of eBay that you just so _happened_ across William Shatner with and asked him to sign it. It's not like it's…"

He walked back to the closet and pulled out a VHS tape.

"…the collector's edition VHS tapes. There's plenty more where this one came from. How about I destroy the very last in your collection first? Let's destroy the end before the beginning. I'm sure George Lucas would approve of that method…"

Sasuke's face went sheet white, and he struggled in the ropes binding him to the couch. "N-N-No! Itachi! Shit, don't! Not the final episode! Destroy one of the episodes I don't care as much about first! _Please!!_"

He held the hammer he'd stolen from Deidara's studio up a little, making sure to make the build-up long and excruciatingly painful. He took aim, lifted it, lowered it a little to "test" his swing, lifted it, lowered it yet again, lifted it and finally…

"Fine! I'll tell you!"

The eldest stopped before it impacted. He turned, a wry smile on his face. "Oh?" He walked over to Sasuke, leaning down. "So…you're willing to talk…" Sasuke's head was down, and he looked like he was about to start crying. Itachi bent down, his lips close to his brother's ear. "What's this big idea of yours, little brother?"

"I sneak into your house at midnight and stick needles through all of your condoms. If you did women, you'd be a father to, like, seventeen children without even realizing it." Sasuke lifted his head, still as stubborn as ever. He stuck his tongue out at the older sibling, and Itachi resisted the urge to take the hammer to the little one's fingers or rip that tongue right out of his mouth–whichever came first.

Instead, he just slapped him across the face. A nice, strong bitch slap.

Sasuke recoiled and returned the anger with the only thing he could do–spit in his brother's face. Itachi doubled backward, nearly falling over on top of the television. "Ah, shit, Sasuke! You little–"

He swore, regaining his balance. "Well. If you're not going to tell me…it's obvious your Trekkie crap isn't what you care about the most…" He smiled at his brother, wiping the spit off his face. He turned toward the bedroom. "Here, puss, puss, puss…"

Whiskers stalked out of the room, meowing rather loudly, and Itachi grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, holding her up in the air. Sasuke swore as Whiskers started yowling loudly, hissing and spitting. He struggled as hard as he could against the ropes, that language popping up again.

"You hurt my baby and I swear I'll fucking kill you! I won't just fucking kill you, I'll kill everyone you've ever cared about, you sick fuck! Put Whiskers the fuck down! Fuck! You fucking sick fuck! Put her down or I'm going to go over and break Kisame's fish tank!!"

Itachi smiled, struggling against the cat struggling to get put down. The cat was doing a fairly good job at cutting up his hands. He winced, lifting the hammer. "Allow me to shut your pussy up so I can continue this interrogation…"

"Put her down and I'll tell you! I'll fucking tell you for real this time!!"

Itachi dropped the cat, and Sasuke shuddered out of reflex, taking a big sigh of relief. His eyes grew misty. His older brother walked over, finally leaning down and putting the hammer on top of the VHS tape behind him. "What's your big plan, Sasuke?"

He bit his lip, voice trembling. "I hate you _so_ much… You had to go and drive even Dad's business into the ground. You sent our entire family to the poorhouse. How could you?" He sniffled, his eyes hardening. "That's why I'm going to send _you_ to the poorhouse, you stupid shit! I hate you! I fucking hate you!"

Itachi stood, sighing. "Is this all you want to tell me? I can easily go get that cat again. It ran into the bathroom. And what kind of name is Whiskers?"

He sniffled. "You want to know? FINE! Neji gave me the idea. He said contacts would sell better than glasses! So I'm going for it! I may not be able to put you out of business, but I'd wind up being greater than you!"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders, mumbling quietly. "Contacts are getting more popular than glasses. My business is already starting to fail because of it."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Wh-Wh-What!? You knew!?"

Itachi nodded. "Yeah. What? I have business instinct. I'm well aware."

"What about…coloured contacts?"

Itachi's brows rose. "Would you be willing to sell me your idea?"

"Hell no!!"

Itachi smiled. "So be it. I'll just steal it from you then."

"_No_. You won't, Itachi."

Both men turned to see Neji in the doorway, glaring at the older brother. Sasuke's jaw dropped. "How the hell is everyone getting into my apartment!? Neji! I thought you drunk yourself to sleep!"

Neji rubbed his head a little, shrugging. "No one could sleep through those blood-curdling screams coming from your apartment, Sasuke… Not even someone drunk. _Jesus_, you're loud."

Itachi smiled, walking over to him. "Oh…! I've seen you around Ice… You've got good dance moves."

Neji smiled with pride. "Thank you, but you'll be leaving now. And you won't be stealing our idea because my uncle has the best lawyers in the city, and Sasuke and I have already gone and finalized the papers in regards to what our business will specialize in. The second _you_ try to produce your own, we can easily take you to court."

"I'll still be making contacts. And coloured contacts aren't that difficult to come up with. There's going to be no proof I stole them from you."

"Which is why I stopped him before he mentioned the _other_ idea we have. The one that will _sell_. You get your hands on _that_ one, and I'll be sure to know you stole it, since we both agreed not to mention it outside of the break room at the office."

"There will still be no proof that will stand up in court."

"But it won't matter. Because you're not going to get your greedy little hands on it since neither of us will talk. Now. _Out_."

Itachi walked past him, waving to Sasuke. "You've got a good partner this time, Sasuke. After a few drinks and a quick screw with Suigetsu, he told me everything about your old plans. I wish you the best of luck…" He walked down the hall, going into the elevator and leaving.

Sasuke looked back at Neji, pursing his lips together. "Seriously. Why the hell are you here?"

Neji grinned, closing the door behind him and walking to the couch. He started on the ropes, slowly undoing all of the knots. "To be honest, I really have no idea why I was coming up to visit you. Call it a drunken stupor, if you will. But, hell, I'm sobered up now… I've got to protect my business investment, after all…"

Sasuke nodded, finally rubbing his wrists, where the ropes started rubbing them raw. "Thanks. I'll be sure to return the favor when Itachi starts to interrogate you."

He stood, grabbing the VHS tape on the table without letting Neji see it. He walked back into his room, closed the door to it after tossing the VHS tape onto the bed. He went to the closet all of his Trekkie stuff was in, closing it off and going over to the couch. Neji was staring at the plastic pieces on the ground, a smirk on his face.

"…What are you smiling about?"

Neji looked up, pointing toward the kitchen. "I saw the tin of tuna on the counter in your kitchen. Do you actually have a cat or do you just feel like eating Fancy Feast for the hell of it?"

Sasuke's cheeks went red. "I…have a cat. Her name is Whiskers, if you must know. She's a pretty good breed, too–the rare LaPerm. I dote on her, you might say…"

"Spoil her is more like the sound of it. Tell me, Sasuke, what _do_ you do with your time outside of the office? Any…parties you go to? Clubs? ……_Conventions_?"

The dark-haired Uchiha laughed, running a hand through his hair. "D-Don't be ridiculous. I take care of Whiskers all day. She takes up much of my life… Now…thanks for protecting our ideas, but you should probably get home. It's close to two in the morning by now…"

Neji stood, stretching a little. "I wasn't protecting our _ideas_, man." Sasuke looked over at him, and Neji looked back at him for a while. They both nodded their heads in silent agreement–both of them would protect their _investment_, both of them would return the favor if the situation requiring that came up, neither of them would back down now that they'd both agreed to this partnership, neither would screw the other over, everything like that–and Neji went to the door.

Sasuke sighed, going into the bathroom. "Whiskers…come back out to Daddy… Itachi is gone…" The cat came out, mewling pitifully, and he took her up in his arms, shushing her quietly.

He came out of the bathroom to find Neji still at the door. The man was holding his hand up, his fingers splayed in the middle–two to each side. "Live long and prosper." Without another word, he shut the door behind him and left.

Sasuke's jaw dropped, and he dropped the cat, rushing to the door. He threw it open, shouting down the hall, barely caring it was two in the morning. "Neji!"

Neji turned around, looking slightly amused. "Yeah?"

Sasuke did the same, his chest practically filled with happiness. He couldn't keep the laughter out of his voice, and returned the gesture. "L-Live long and prosper!"

Neji nodded, walking backwards to the elevator. "Yeah, I'm not a fan, but…you know…if you ever want someone to go to a convention with you……I'm game for anything. I get bored easily."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Then…where are you going? You have to watch the series with me! I have the entire thing on DVD."

Neji stared at him for a moment, absorbing all of that, until finally he nodded his head. "Alright. But tomorrow I get to take you out to a club. And this time, you have to at least _try_ to dance. That is, if you _can_…"

They both nodded their heads in agreement, sealing the deal.

As Neji stepped into the younger Uchiha's apartment, Sasuke looked him over a little, quirking a brow. "By the way…Itachi said he'd seen you at Ice… I hope you don't mind me asking…but……are you…er…_gay_?"

Neji waved his hand, going and taking a spot on the couch. "I accept all genders, man. Men _and_ women. Though…all the times I've been with a man have been when I was drunk." He shrugged his shoulders, giving the other an 'I take what I can get' look.

"You need to stop drinking, then."

"And _you_ need to try it yourself. You might like it…"

Sasuke groaned, picking up Whiskers and sitting on the couch next to Neji. The cat immediately jumped off his lap and set herself between him and Neji, curling up possessively to her pet's leg. "I thought you said you weren't making a pass at me."

"I never said I was."

"I don't think my cat likes you." Why the hell had he gone and said that? Sasuke was about to say something twice as ridiculous to make up for his blunder, until Neji spoke first.

"Most don't. That's why I drink."

Sasuke absorbed it for a full minute before he remembered what Shino had said two weeks ago and Neji's joke hit him full-on. He burst out laughing, and Neji leaned back in the couch, grinning to himself.

––––––––––––  
Sunday. 10:49 A.M.  
––––––––––––––––––

Sasori sighed, finally getting the puppet down perfectly. He wiped the sweat off his brow, sighing in relief once again. Finally. After nearly a year, he'd finished this piece of crap. His sigh of relief soon turned to a groan.

That just left the reading of Kankurou's script, the design of all the puppets, running it by the director–who wouldn't be easy on him, considering he'd called him talentless–, and finally into their creation. Twenty puppets fashioned to look like people–Kankurou had skipped out on getting people who could act. There were only _two_ parts played by actual people. Considering what Kankurou had asked for, it was starting to look like _two __hundred_ puppets. All of them had to accentuate the lead character–some bitch with pink hair. He'd seen her picture…he didn't know how he was going to accentuate her at all just by using puppets. Perhaps he could request that she wear a bag over her head?

Just…that _forehead_.

And the lead actor didn't look much better. He had greasy blond hair and a debonair smirk on his face that made him want to retch. The man looked like the quintessence of arrogance and douche-baggery. And…honestly? The Draco Malfoy look died when he was still in art school…

He went to the phone. All of this shit would have to wait until he called up the other guy who wanted the scorpion-type thing for his play. Some stupid Broadway shit. Kankurou's play–the one he had stubbornly taken up just to prove the bastard wrong–was looking like some strangely appealing rendition of The Lion King. That one had used a lot of puppets as well. Only, instead of an abundance of reds and oranges and African motifs, it would have some Japanese flair to it, complete with sakura trees and pink petals all over the place. That Kankurou was a _pansy_.

Deidara stormed in the door, a pathetic cry issuing from his lips. He went over to Sasori, planting himself against him, his eyes intense. "Sasori, I need ten minutes with you, yeah. Can you give me that much?"

Sasori grumbled, pushing Deidara off of him. "No, Dei. I'm much too busy. I don't have time for _that_ right now. No matter how frisky you're getting."

The blond pleaded, rubbing his hand against Sasori's chest, leaning all over him suddenly. "Sasori, it's really not like that, yeah. I just need someone to–"

"I said I'm _busy_!"

Deidara took a step back, face distraught. "…I…I know…but I just need _ten_ minutes! Not ten hours, Sasori! Ten _minutes_!"

He groaned. "You'll see me at your party tonight. I can make time for you then."

Deidara's bottom lip trembled and he stormed out of the room, throwing his arms up in the air. "First you nearly break my foot, now you won't even give me the time of day when I need it, yeah!! You're an asshole, Sasori!!"

Sasori groaned, peeking out of his studio after him. "I already told you, Deidara! I didn't think the hammer would fall to pieces and actually drop onto your foot! It was a harmless prank gone horribly wrong!"

Deidara didn't even reply, so Sasori stuck his head back in his studio, slamming the door behind him and going immediately for the phone. What the hell could Deidara possibly be so upset about? He was used to it. Besides, he had a party he'd been planning for four weeks after he had the last one. Sure he was never able to pick someone up at a bar party nights, but he must've been used to it by now!

He jabbed the buttons into the phone, dialing the number. After a few rings, it picked up. He tried to keep his voice calm, so he took a deep breath.

"Yes, Mr. Kishimoto? The puppet you need for that play is ready. Just finished it last night…"

––––––––––––––––––

Eleven p.m. rolled around and Sasori was still broken up over the script. For a play a talentless, uncreative sop wrote, it was incredibly real, incredibly…_good_. If Kankurou managed to succeed with this play–and it was very likely that he would–, he could probably make quite a bit of money. It was no wonder he'd gotten someone to want to produce it after it just being his first experience at writing plays. Maybe Kankurou had more talent than he'd thought previous. Maybe not in puppet-making, but certainly in writing plays.

The play had a simple plot–a woman on her last leg finding hope. That was pretty much the gist of it. That and finding romance. It had elements both men and women could enjoy. It was sure to be a hit. It was surely a piece written from the heart, as well.

He stood, circling all the parts puppets would work best in. There were plenty of parts where the woman would go off and dream, only adding to the number of puppets he would need to create. Fish swimming through the ocean, birds flying all over the place, and all of the characters in her everyday life would show their real selves in her dreams–that meant _doubles_ of each character, including the lead actress–apparently the leading male was exactly the same in the front he put up on stage and his real self in her dreams. All of the puppets of the people-selves couldn't be re-used, because their real selves were so incredibly different from the one they put up a front for while the actress was awake.

Her soft-spoken landlord became something like a bulldog-headed oaf of a man, shouting all the time and demanding rent. An old woman living next door that had about ten cats turned into some kind of monster with fangs, collecting those cats only to eat them for dinner. The actress herself turned into a small child, angry and insecure and stubborn.

It was funny. It was depressing. It was romantic. It was all around _excellent_!

Kankurou had really outdone himself.

Deidara walked into the redhead's studio, immediately going over to the bed and lying down. He pulled the covers over himself and closed his eyes in an attempt to sleep. Sasori looked over at him for a moment, a puzzled look on his face.

"…What about the party? That was over pretty quickly, don't you think? Usually everyone leaves around three…"

Deidara sighed. "I cancelled it _yesterday_. There was no party, yeah."

"Oh. Well…the man you were with must've been really easy. Leaving around eleven? Probably didn't even have any alcohol in him. Just a quick screw-and-go…"

"There was no _man_, Sasori. I haven't had sex in the past _week_, yeah."

Sasori dropped the script in his hand. Okay, what the _hell_ was bothering him? He walked over, staring at him mutely. Deidara put his face in his hands, his face growing red. "Sasori, I can't sleep if you stare at me like that, yeah. I'm really tired."

"What happened?"

Deidara looked up at him, his eyebrows furrowing. "What does it matter, yeah? You didn't care earlier. You're obviously _still_ busy, yeah. Don't bother making time for me. Just go back to your work. You're an artist, yeah. The muse comes before everything, even the people you care about!"

Sasori shook his head. "The muse does _not_ come before you. The muse isn't even present in this studio right now. To be honest, I _shot_ the muse as she made a break for my fingers."

Deidara stared at him, a smile slowly forming on his face. "You get funnier each day, Sasori. But really…if you put it all off now, you'll never get any work done, yeah. What is it, anyway?"

"Some play that bitch Kankurou got produced. I'm supposed to design _and_ build twenty main puppets, but the way things are looking like now, I'll have to make two hundred easy, just as side props and stuff. He _really_ wants there to be puppets in this thing. I mean, he only has _two_ real actors. The rest of the characters are all puppets!"

Deidara sat up a little, grabbing for his hand and kissing it tenderly. "He _really_ wants to get back at you for calling him talentless, yeah… Either that or prove you wrong; you _were_ his idol, yeah… But _you're_ the one designing them…so I suppose that proves you right…" He kissed his hand again, and Sasori took a seat on the bed.

"…After reading that script, I'm starting to think I was _wrong_ about him. By asking _me_ to create them all, he's really doing a bold move. He can shoot them down and make my life a living hell as much as he wants. But…in the end, he's _still_ going to be the one that winds up choreographing the entire thing, despite the fact that he's also directing. He gave good descriptions of what he wants, and all of them are just as imaginative as the next. I just have to get them all written down. I said he cared too much about them being showy, but he understands that sometimes them being showy is all he needs to produce a great show… I care too much about them being _art_; I forget the play they're used in is just as much art as the puppets themselves…"

Deidara curled up, hands around his knees, looking up at Sasori timidly. "…He sounds a lot like you. He puts work before everything else, has just the same amount of drive, and, best of all, he understands what art is, yeah. His version of art is just completely different from either of ours, Sasori… His is just to do his best in making a show blow people's minds, to make them cry at the beauty of the performance, yeah?"

"Yeah…" He looked back at the script on the ground, finally turning back to Deidara and focusing on what was really the most important thing to him. "So…what's wrong? Something's obviously bothering you."

"It's Kiba." The blond looked down at his hands, clenching them shut. "I…haven't heard from him in a week, and I couldn't shake the thought that something terrible happened to him, yeah. He said his two friends were going to help discover if Shino was gay or not by taking him to a strip club, and…he said he'd call me back when he found out…"

"Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe he discovered Shino _wasn't_ interested in women and was so happy he forgot to call you–he certainly seems the type. He could be with Shino right now."

"…Maybe he is, but I don't think he's happy. I tried calling him three times, yeah, but each time I did, a woman picked up the phone and told me he couldn't talk. I called around ten this morning and she said he had to get ready for a funeral or something…" He sighed, rubbing his hands against his knees. "……This probably sounds silly, Sasori, but if we had a kid, Kiba would be it, yeah. That's how it feels…"

Sasori smiled. "A kid with no idea of art? That doesn't sound like any kid _I'd _raise."

"I just said that's what it feels like, hmmm! I'm not saying he _is_! That's what it feels like to _me_! Not what it feels like to _you_, yeah!"

"Well, from what Kiba was telling me about Shino, Shino is a really good friend. Even if he's not gay, he certainly would do something for him. I think Kiba's in good hands. So stop worrying. Maybe he'll call when he's feeling better…" When Deidara didn't look convinced, he grabbed him by the waist, picking him off of his bed. He grabbed him by the hand and stormed toward where he dropped the script.

Once there, he grabbed the script and shoved it in Deidara's hands. "This is probably _the_ biggest project of my career as an artist."

Deidara looked at the script in his hand for a long time before he looked up at Sasori. "Biggest project of your career, yeah? Why are you giving me the script? I don't know anything about puppets, yeah…"

"It doesn't matter. You know about art."

"But _my_ view of art is different than yours, yeah!"

Sasori narrowed his eyes, groaning. His cheeks went red and he put a hand over his face. "Dei…maybe my message wasn't clear enough. This is _the_ _biggest_ project of my career, and I want _you_ to be a part of it. It's like asking you to spend the rest of your life with me all over again. See?"

Deidara's face brightened, his bad mood blowing as far away as the wind would take it. "You don't want to go it alone?"

Sasori wrapped an arm around Deidara's waist, giving him a kiss on the forehead. "I can do this project easy and show Kankurou just who's the better man with one hand tied around my back. But I want you to be there by my side."

Deidara knocked him to the ground. "Oh, yeah! Sasori, let's have sex, _right_ now!"

Sasori groaned, looking over at the script that had fallen out of Deidara's hands. "I'm glad you're in a better mood, but _try_ to understand I wasn't just telling you all of this to make you feel better. I really _do_ think I need help with this…"

Deidara's voice went low, his demeanor turning coy. "…So even the great Sasori needs help against a wimpy little amateur, hmmm? Fine. One quick screw and we can get back to work. You've been working all day. What better way to help than give you some…_inspiration_, yeah?"

"I'm not a sexual person, Dei. You _know_ that… I can practically count the times I've masturbated on my hand…"

"Which is why I usually top, yeah. Except for that time after Kiba came by…and when we exchanged rings… So let me top like always, and I swear I'll make you _so_ relaxed, you won't even be worrying about this silly Mr. Vindictive-Creative-Kankurou, yeah!"

"_About_ that ring…why the _hell_ aren't you wearing it?"

"…I can't pick up men wearing a ring, yeah. They think I'm married."

"We…_are_ technically married…"

"It's not a union if we don't live together, Sasori!"

Sasori pushed the blond off of him, grabbing the script off the ground. "No sex. Asshole." So they weren't in a union anymore, was that it? Well…then he'd just have to show Deidara what he thought of _that_. He looked up at Deidara, tearing the ring from his hand and tossing it back at him, right in his stupid face.

Deidara caught it, looking a bit amused and upset all at once. "Oh, _come_ on, yeah!! You're too sensitive, Sasori!"

––––––––––––––  
Sunday. 11:10 P.M.  
––––––––––––––––––

He ran his hand through brown hair, watching the man beneath him writhe around and fist the sheets. Their breathing was heavy; sweat was beading on their foreheads. The man beneath him reached up and raked his fingers against his back as he thrust into him again.

"Ah, Sh-Shino…"

He bent down, closing his mouth over the brunette's, thrusting into him again as their tongues wrestled. Those fingernails raked through his back again and he groaned in response, pulling his mouth off of his and kissing the brunette's neck. He grunted again as he thrust into him.

He leaned up and whispered into the man's ear, causing the other to shiver in response.

"You're mine, Kiba."

Shino shot up, sweating bullets, eyes bewildered. He swallowed hard, throwing the covers off of him to see the tent in his pants. He ran a hand through his hair, wiping the sweat off of his forehead, though he knew that wouldn't wipe off the sweat soaking into his shirt, all over his back and chest. With trembling legs he made his way to the edge of the bed, settling his feet onto the ground.

He stood, his legs just _nearly_ giving out on him. He stumbled over to the bathroom, trembling all over.

What the FUCK was that?

What the FUCK was happening to him?

Why the FUCK was that dream about _Kiba_??

He went to the bathroom, taking a quick glance around to find everyone else asleep. With that settled, he shut the door behind him, locking it. He stared at his pants for the longest time, mind racing as to what to do about this situation. When he'd gotten "the talk" from his father, his father had laughed and told him if he masturbated, his…er…_thing_ would fall off and wriggle away, just like all the worms they'd been raising.

It was obvious his father had said that to him in good jest, but still…he could practically count the times he'd actually masturbated on his hand. It was just…awkward. He'd never been much of a sexual person. He shut his eyes, reaching down into his pants.

"Shit. What the hell. I might as well get this over with."

–––––––––––––––––––

Scratch that. This most recent occurrence made six in total. He could count the times he'd masturbated on his hand_**s**_.

He went into the kitchen, cheeks bright red. He needed a glass of water. He needed _something_.

As he turned the corner, he could see out of the kitchen window. Kiba was sitting on the table outside, and there was something sitting beside him. Shino swallowed the urge to puke and went outside. He walked over, and Kiba looked over at him.

"Hey…" The dog-lover managed to mumble.

Shino nodded, taking a spot next to him, hands out on the table behind his rear, leaning back a little and looking at the stars. "The stars look great out here. Reminds me of back at the farm. I could always see them so clearly all the way out there… …I never realized how much I missed them…"

Kiba picked the object up, and soon Shino could hear loud gulping noises. He looked over at Kiba, who was practically guzzling a bottle of whiskey. Shino grabbed it, making a good portion of it run all over the brunette's face, down his shirt.

"Kiba. Don't drink so much."

Kiba glared at him for a moment before he sighed, looking back down at the grass beneath the table. "…Sorry."

Shino sighed. "You don't have to be. I'm just worried. You'll drink yourself to death if you keep this up…"

"You shouldn't have come here. I was perfectly enjoying myself until you had to show up. You should just…go. You're a parasite. I can't stand the sight of you."

Shino stared at the bottle in his hands, pouring it out into the grass. "…Thanks… It's good to know I'm a parasite." His eyes narrowed just slightly. He knew he was a little sensitive to begin with, but…really? Was that _really_ called for?

"Yeah, and you're ugly as dirt. I'll bet you get it from your father. You and that frizzy hair, and those _eyes_ of yours are so disgus–"

Shino seized his arm, pulling him closer so their faces nearly touching. "What the hell do you have against me being here? Hana is overjoyed that Juugo is here, and she's overjoyed I'm here. You aren't. Why? _Why??_ I drive over four state lines to return a dog to you that knocks me over every time I go near it. I even let you cry on my shoulder like a baby just because I smelled like your mother. I do _all_ of this shit for you because I don't want to lose a really great friend, and all you have to give me in return are insults. Why?"

Kiba swallowed, looking away from the taller man's eyes. Shino shook him. "Look at me, damn it." Kiba closed his eyes, looking down at the ground again, and Shino's face fell. "…_Look_ at me…" When Kiba refused to look, he released the other, biting his lip and running a hand through his hair. He looked away, nearly turning fully away from him angrily.

"Just…forget it. I've dropped off Akamaru like I was planning, and it's obvious you don't want to go back to the city. Shikamaru and Chouji are still there. I'll just have to invite them over more often or something…"

He stood, tossing the bottle against the house as he went to the back door. Kiba finally spoke, his voice quiet.

"Have you ever had a dream you didn't want to have? One you felt really uncomfortable with? Something that…just…_scared_ you?"

Shino turned around, nodding his head slowly. As a matter of fact, he'd just had one.

Kiba sighed, tracing his hand along the wood. "You were in it. That's why I can't stand the sight of you…"

Shino went red, kicking the ground a little bashfully. "R-Really? I mean…uh…wh-wh-what was it about?"

"You took her place… Hell, you even _smelled_ like her, just like after the funeral. …In it you were trying to make me forget about her… And…now that you're here…it makes me feel like that's what you're trying to do… I don't _want_ to forget about her, Shino."

"Then why are you drinking?"

"I want to forget about _feeling like this_. I don't want to forget about _her_!"

Shino walked over, grabbing him in a headlock and rubbing his head furiously with his fist. Kiba winced. "O-Ow! Wh-What the hell, Shino??" The taller man released him, and Kiba sat back up again. He looked at him, looking hurt, and Shino rolled his eyes, glad Kiba could actually see them that time. When was the last time he'd worn his sunglasses?

"I don't _want_ you to forget about your mother, idiot. I just want you to come back to the city. The only way I could make you forget about your mother would be to bash your head against this table enough times to give you amnesia. And your sister would probably bash my head in, and then your mother would probably rise from the grave and finish me off…"

Kiba didn't find the joke funny, and he looked away again.

Shino walked into the house, leaving for quite some time. Finally, he came back with something in his hands. He sat down, holding it up to the shorter man's face so he could see it. "I bought it at a bookstore while Juugo was filling up the car yesterday. I thought I was a little fitting."

Kiba's eyes misted over again when he read the title. "The Runaway Bunny…"

"No. It's The Runaway _Puppy_."

"N-No it's not… My Mom read this to me all the time when I was a kid."

Shino opened it, grumbling a little. "Sure it is. See? Here." He pulled it away before Kiba could look at the page. "I'll read it to you." Before Kiba could protest, he was reading his _own_ rendition of the story.

"Once there was a little puppy who wanted to run away. He didn't tell his friend the roach at all. Instead, he said, 'You're ugly. And I hate you.' The roach was hurt deeply, but…pretty much knew the puppy had meant, 'I am running away.'  
'If you run away,' said the roach, 'I will run after you, for you are my best friend.'"

Kiba bit his lip, rolling his eyes. "C-C-Come on, Shino… That's…just…" He finally looked down, hiding a smile from the taller man. Though Shino didn't see it, he could hear it in the brunette's voice. He looked at him, eyebrows raising, hopeful.

"Just…_what_?"

Kiba looked up at him, sighing and frowning again. "The story is just _lame_ the way you tell it. Besides…you're not a roach and I'm not a puppy."

Shino looked at him for a moment before he snorted. "Please! You're _just_ like a little puppy, Kiba!"

Kiba's eyes widened, and his face went white. He looked down at the ground, taking a deep breath and trying to stop freaking out. "P-Please don't say that, Shino. You're bringing up some shitty memories for me… Ah, shit. And on this table, too…" He went numb again, standing from the table. "…I'm going to bed."

Shino grabbed his hand. "Wait, I'm not even done with the story. Come on… At least finish the story. I'll read it the way you want it. However you want it read, I'll read it that way. Give and take. I made you sit through those boring cop dramas when you spent the night once, and you can make me read this story the way it's written."

For the longest time Kiba stared at him, before he bit his lip. "Y-You're not…like the other…friends I've had, Shino."

"……What." Shino looked at him, eyes telling him that he was _really_ hurt by that comment. "…I'm…a terrible friend, aren't I? That's to be expected, though… I don't have much experience when it comes to cheering people up…and I don't know how to act around people."

"No… You're _too_ nice to me."

Shino looked up, standing and tossing the book to the ground. "What? You want me to be _mean_? I'll be mean." He walked over, grabbing Kiba by the collar of his shirt and slamming him against the wall of the house. He stared at him, eyes intense, and Kiba just stared back, his face full of terror. It was wonderful, staring at his face like that. Kiba was terrified. He wasn't just staring at him with that vacant look on his face like he had been ever since the funeral ended and they came back home. He was expressing some sort of emotion. He looked more like _himself_.

"Smile." His voice was low, threatening, demanding.

Kiba's eyes just widened further, disbelieving. "Wh-What?"

"I said _smile._"

Kiba's eyebrows knitted together pathetically. "…S-Smile? That's not mean at all…"

"You smell like wet dog almost _all_ the time. Is that mean enough for you? Now smile."

Kiba didn't smile; instead, tears started running down his cheeks. Shino stared at him, growing flustered. "Wh-What…? Was wet dog _really_ that hurtful? You're just…pathetic… C-Come on, Kiba. What the hell? Why are you crying? You've taken bigger insults than that, _surely_."

"…Don't let go of me."

Shino's face went red and he very nearly pushed himself away from the brunette. He stuttered. "Wh-Wh-What? I mean…really? You…you _really_ don't want me to? Um…okay… I'm sure it's because you're crying, and that's what friends…do…right?"

Kiba bought a hand to his eyes, wiping the tears from them. His voice was more demanding. "Don't let go of me." Shino didn't let go, and his voice was weary. "Shino, did you _hear_ me? I said don't let go."

"What the hell do you think I'm doing, Kiba?"

"You're not supposed to do that! You're supposed to ignore me and do whatever the hell _you_ want to do!"

"…I don't really know _what_ I want to do. You're making it very difficult to deal with you, Kiba."

The brunette swore. "Then just do the exact opposite of what I say. Don't let go." Shino's body never moved, and Kiba swore again. "What the hell!? What did I _just_ say??"

Shino's insides twisted, and he removed his hands from Kiba's shirt after a while. Instead of just turning away and going back inside, he moved them around him, pulling the shorter man into a tight hug. "You told me to ignore you and do what I wanted. And I am. So stop crying. You're acting just as hormonal as a woman on her period. Stop fluctuating moods so suddenly. Cry or get angry at me. Or better yet, just _smile_."

Kiba sobbed, feeling even shittier. "God damn you, Shino. I fucking hate you so much…" He wrapped his arms around the taller man, burying his face in his chest and crying just as much as he was earlier that day.

Shino sighed, letting his head rest on the top of Kiba's. What was Kiba to him, _exactly_? He wanted to be close to him, wanted to be near him. He couldn't pinpoint it. He'd never experienced such an intense feeling of friendship toward someone before. It was even closer than he felt toward his Dad, who had been his _best_ friend, minus all the annoying quirks. Was that more like brotherly love? What was it? _Was_ Kiba like a brother to him? Was he just a really great friend? Was he…s…something more? He seriously doubted that last one. After all, rightness happened with friends, too…surely. Shikamaru felt right with Chouji, right? But what about Kiba…?

Lately it felt like his thoughts had been reduced to questions that were never answered.

* * *

_I don't know why I keep feeling the urge to remind people that Shino isn't wearing his sunglasses. The funeral chapter was understandable because it was sort of in Kiba's perspective a bit, so he noticed Shino's sunglasses weren't on. But there's really no excuse for this one. Just know…he's not wearing them anymore. I got tired of being afraid of my readers picturing him in their heads with his sunglasses on, and I kept feeling like I had to mention they weren't._

_But no more of that. It's too troublesome._


	21. The Funeral pt5

_Yay. I had fun with the last chapter, and I hope you all had fun with it, too. O: _

_About this chapter…_

_Ukon takes a bit more of a prime role in this one, at least…in regards to Shino. He's a fun character to work with. All nice and happy and buddy-buddy with Kiba… It's kind of surreal, but that's why this is an alternate universe fic, right? Kidoumaru will be taking his place in later chapters. Of course, as a rival. Not as a friendly kind of guy. Um_…_that's also why I put in that heavy symbolism for Shino when he was looking out the window. I'm sure all of you will understand just by reading it. Also. In the next chapter it gets brought up again, so if any of you forget it will still be there. (Not like any of you will. My readers are all fucking smart.)  
_

_Enjoy this chapter's main joke, too. I burst out laughing for a good thirty seconds when I came up with the idea for Shino's way of getting rid of Ukon and Kimimaro. Then I typed it up, stared at the words on my screen, and couldn't believe I'd actually decided on putting it in there and spent another twenty seconds laughing about it._

_As for Ukon's roach comment, if you say Shino's full name in the regular Japanese way–Aburame Shino–it's awfully close to the Japanese word for cockroach–aburamushi. Hence, Ukon asks him if he's a cockroach. The only way I could get him to say his first name after his last name was to pull a James Bond move, hence Kimimaro's comment._

_(Of course, in my book, Shino might as well be James Bond.)_

_-sigh- As I write the next few chapters, I can't keep my dislike from spilling over. What the hell am I thinking? It has nothing to do with the plot, of course. It's how I'm writing it. It's looking cramped, and that's started to bug me. What do any of you think? Would it flow better if the sentences were shorter? Since I've always wanted to write books, and part of me thinks it'd be really fun writing books for children, I have this weird obsession with making them flow together. I read them aloud and am appalled by the amount of tongue-twisters I come across. If I were writing a book for children, there'd be no way someone could read it aloud to them! I have a difficult enough time as it is. I'm well aware I'd have to make writing for children much simpler and all, but I can't help but think my chapters in this fic are becoming increasingly more cramped and that they don't flow together well._

_Any help on the matter is appreciated. _

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 21_

Shino woke up sometime around noon to find himself on the floor of Kiba's bedroom. He sat up, rubbing his head a little. Oh great. He'd fallen asleep here, hadn't he? He looked over at the bed, surprised to see the bed was a mess but there was no one in it. He stood, mumbling a little and going to the kitchen. Juugo was sitting at the table, calmly eating a turkey sandwich.

Shino walked over, taking the spot across from him, silent. After a while, Juugo looked at him, the food in his mouth rolling to the side of his cheek so he could speak. "They left for the legal consultant's office. Apparently Mom had a video message she wanted to show them after the funeral."

Shino nodded slowly, slightly startled at the much bigger man's sudden use of the word 'Mom'. He'd completely forgotten Juugo and Hana were engaged. Still…mom was a bit much, wasn't it? He hadn't ever spoken to her before… Shino shook his head a little, bringing his mind back to the conversation. Why was Juugo still here?

"Why aren't you with Hana?" He asked.

Juugo shrugged. "Same reason as you. I slept in… Nice bed head, by the way."

Shino reached up and scratched at his hair, surprised to feel it was ten times poofier than usual. What the hell? Did his dad _really_ have to pass on a fro to him? Maybe it was his mother… His dad's hair was a lot less frizzy, after all… Either way, he went red and wondered if he should do something about it.

He swore, standing and going to the bathroom. He was in there for ten minutes getting his hair–how great was it that his hair was extremely manageable today??—to stay down. He stepped back into the kitchen, a bit pleased with his hair for once. It looked nicer than it normally did.

Four dogs came bursting through the back door–Akamaru and three that looked like identical triplets–, barking wildly and jumping all over each other. Shino nearly shouted at the sudden surprise, and Juugo just looked at them a bit agitated. From the living room they heard a disgruntled, "Quiet, neuters!" and a bark. Akamaru whimpered a little, falling short; it was quite humorous to see the dog get so upset over something that probably went for all four. The three identical ones just stopped, stalking into the room and starting to growl at the older dog in front of them. Kuromaru growled right back, as if daring them to do something.

Juugo put his fingers in his mouth, letting out a loud whistle. The dogs came back into the room, standing at attention, and he shook his head at them irritably. They all dashed out the door to go play in the kennels again, except for Kuromaru, who had gone straight back to the living room. Akamaru glanced toward the living room for a long moment before he tossed his head in Shino's direction, giving him a happy little bark.

Shino just stared at him. "…What?"

Akamaru barked again, wagging his tail a little. Juugo noticed the wag and smiled. "He wants you to go outside and play."

Shino shook his head. "No way. I just woke up. There's going to be four dogs out there, all of them seem like the types that would knock me over." He turned to Akamaru, shaking his head. "No."

Akamaru whined a little before he went darting out the door again.

"Are you sure it would be best to leave the door open like that?" Shino took his spot at the table across from the much taller man again.

Juugo shrugged. "If we don't, Akamaru might wind up breaking it down. It's an old house. Besides, a little bit of bugs never hurt anyone…"

The man across the table from him nodded his head a little, completely agreeing with him. After a while, he glanced out the window, staring at a spider web in the corner outside. The way it rested against the window made it look like there was a big crack running down the length of the window, separating two plates of glass. He knew they were both still one glass, firmly connected to the other half, but it really did look like that spider web was a crack across it, splitting the pieces apart. He stared at it a bit more intensely, spotting his own reflection in one of the halves. Behind his head there was the outline of something rather intriguing behind him. He glanced back behind him at the china cabinet. The glass in one of the sides was missing and there were fragments littering the inside, like they'd been dumped in there for easy clean-up. He'd seen it like that the day before, but he never really cared to know what had happened. Now, he was curious.

"What happened there? Is that why Hana has her hand stitched up?"

Juugo nodded a little, taking a bite from his sandwich. "…Yeah. Also why she's limping, too… Those dishes in there were her favorites. Mom always said she'd give them to her as a wedding present. I guess she was really upset over that and wound up punching the glass in… I caught her holding one of them in her hands and crying shortly after we came back here and got situated after the funeral yesterday. I'm sure it's about me being here and everything."

Huh. He'd never noticed the limp. He supposed it was just because Juugo was more concerned with Hana than anything else. There was a long moment of silence between the two until Shino looked over at him, feeling a tad bit awkward over bringing it up again. "So…about a wedding…"

"She said yes when I asked her. Sorry I forgot to tell you; you seemed busy at the time." Juugo smiled to himself, his cheeks going pink. "But she wants to wait and keep it from Kiba a little bit longer. I think she's going to tell him around the time you start to make him feel better, and then we'll probably all go back to the city and have a wedding there. She says she wants a spring wedding, like her mother had. So, since we don't want Kiba finding out, I'm going to take the couch right now."

"Something tells me Kiba will notice long before she even considers telling him…" Shino sighed, staring at the table for a short while. He looked up and stared at Juugo, sizing him up a little before he cringed visibly as he mentally went over the couch's size in his head. "But _that's_… You can have the guest room if you want. The bed is large even for me. The couch must be tiny. I could take over it for you if you liked."

"No. The couch is good. Kuromaru sleeps in the living room, and it's calming. Although I wound up with a crick in my neck this morning." He looked at his sandwich for a moment before he looked over at Shino, willing to return the gesture of kindness. "Hungry? I can make you something."

The shorter man shrugged. "If you want. I can wait until you're done eating, though."

Juugo nodded his head and stood, shoving the entire sandwich in his mouth and going to the refrigerator. He got out some deli meats and cheeses, going and grabbing some bread from the bread box. When he'd made a satisfactory sandwich, he handed it off to Shino, swallowing the last of the food he'd crammed into his mouth.

Shino's jaw nearly dropped, but he realized it wasn't so odd, considering how big Juugo was. He took the sandwich, taking a much smaller bite. The second it settled into his stomach, his stomach started acting up. A sharp pain pricked him in the side, and he winced. Juugo stared at him.

"Something wrong?"

"Shit. I think my ulcer may have started coming back…" He grinned and bore it, refusing to leave the sandwich uneaten. It was slightly painful, but not as much as it was when it had been in full swing without the aid of his pills.

"Ulcer? I developed one of those while I was going through psychotherapy. It went away, but my doctor says I have to stay away from stress to keep it from coming back…"

"That's what mine said, too. I suppose I'm stressed about all of this… Do they have any pain killers around here?"

"According to Hana, their mother refused to buy them, even the softer kind for head-aches and regular joint pains. Kuromaru's the only one she ever bought anything like that for. You might have to swing by the pharmacy…"

"Where would that be?"

"Somewhere along Main Street. I think at an intersection or something… Need me to come with you?"

Shino shook his head, going over toward the back door. "That's alright. I'll wing it. Besides, Akamaru might enjoy the outing."

Juugo nodded. "If you take Akamaru with you, you might not even have to worry about getting lost. I'm sure he knows this town well."

Shino stuck his head out, staring all the way over at the end of the acre, where Akamaru was showing off by leaping over the fence to the kennel with much more ease than the triplets. How the hell was he going to get the dog…over here?

"Whistle."

He looked back at Juugo pitifully. "Wh– How?"

"You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow. Imitate a bird. Do _something_. The one they respond more to, though, is when you put your fingers in your mouth and do it. It took me a lot of practice. If you don't want to whistle, you can just shout his name across the field."

"Yeah…that's all I've ever seen Kiba do… He barely ever whistles…" He mumbled.

Shino stared at the dog for the longest time, until finally Juugo went to the doorway and let out that whistle Hana had taught him. He patted Shino on the shoulder as the dogs in the field started running back to the back door. "If you plan on getting Kiba to go back to the city, you're going to have to learn how to get Akamaru's attention better."

Shino looked back at him, giving him a weird look. "…What…do you mean by that?" What the hell? Was Juugo _implying_ something?

Juugo shrugged. "I'm just saying, if you want Kiba to go back to the city with you, Akamaru goes with him."

Shino nodded a little, ignoring the three dogs that were standing at attention and instead grabbing a leash by the door and attaching it to Akamaru's collar. He was glad there was at least some distance within the house and Main Street. That would give him some time to gather his thoughts.

––––––––––––––––––

He didn't expect so many people to be giving him looks, though. He stared right back at a woman who was glaring at him and finally he stopped, letting Akamaru settle down a little bit. He stared at her a bit longer, and she started to pass him.

"Is there something on my face?"

She turned and stared at him, her eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe he'd seen her staring at him point blank for a good four seconds. "Why…n-no."

"So why are you glaring at me?"

She stared at him hard before, finally, she cleared her throat. "Because you're with _him_."

Shino looked down at the dog. "That's not very nice. Akamaru can't go for walks on his own… He might find a smaller dog and jump on it…"

"You're with the Inuzuka boy. That's why you were with him in the church."

He stared at her, his face slowly starting to fall. What…? What the hell was that all about? Him and Kiba were _friends_. Why was she staring at him disdainfully like that? "Er…I'm not _with_ him…if that's what you think… I just happen to be his friend."

The woman's mood lightened considerably. "Oh! Well…forget I said anything!" She dashed off in a hurry, face red with embarrassment. He watched her go before he looked down at Akamaru. Akamaru growled after her, finally turning and looking up at Shino, barking a little.

Shino nodded, actually able to understand him for once. "Yeah, well I'm _not_ used to that. Come on, Akamaru. Let's continue to the pharmacy."

Akamaru took the lead again, going down the roads he knew inside and out, front and backwards, in snow and rain, darkness and fog. They finally reached the pharmacy and he faced a predicament. He stared at the sign, clearly stating, "No Dogs Allowed". He looked down at Akamaru, but Akamaru had already taken a spot by the door, next to a little fire hydrant. He twisted the leash around that and walked in. Kiba had trained Akamaru well.

There was a girl at the counter, and she barely looked out of high school. Her cheeks went pink at the sight of him, and she put her hand over her mouth, hiding a giggle. He stared at her for a long time before she went an even darker shade of red.

"M-May I help you, sex–I mean sir!" She stared at him, her face slowly growing more and more red, even to the point that the part in her hair was turning purple.

He blinked. "D-Did you just say sex?"

"No."

He scratched his face a little, looking around at the bottles sitting towards the side of the counter. He was almost amused at the sight of a jar of black licorice. It really seemed old-timey…

"You…You want some licorice?"

He turned to her, surprised she'd caught him staring at it and smiling. He was about to say no, but she quickly seized the jar in her hands and pulled out five sticks, shoving them in his face. "H-H-Here!" She smiled again, that giggle coming back. "Th-They're free…"

He took them dumbly, putting them in his pocket. "Right. Thanks. So, I was wondering if you had anything for ulcers… If not that, where do you keep the pain killers?"

She stared at him, her face clearly showing she had no idea what he'd asked, let alone where it would be located in the store. He gave her a slight sneer, starting to find this really aggravating. His stomach had been shooting pains at him for quite some time, and he was in no mood.

She smiled. "We carry Aspirin!" Oh! _Finally _some help!

"…Where would it be?"

She pointed off toward a rack of almost fifty different pills–vitamins, mostly. "Somewhere over there!"

He stared at where she pointed, his face falling at the sight of vitamins rather than pain killers. He bit his lip, looking back at her, his patience wearing thin. "Listen, are you even _experienced_ for this job?"

She went bright red. "A-Are you coming on to me, Mr…?" She played with the end of that, hoping he'd answer her and she'd find out his name.

His face fell, and he put a hand to his forehead, realizing he might as well get some medication for head-aches while he was here…if everyone in this town was this disoriented. He turned around. "Nevermind, I'll find it myself…" It was obvious she was so scatterbrained and boy-crazy to really take anything he said and figure out a way to help him. She was just staring at his face…which she liked, apparently. He never really considered himself "sexy".

He walked toward the racks, looking at all of them. There was an almost unbearable jolt of pain that shot through him, and he cursed a bit louder than he would have liked. "Shit!" He groaned, putting a hand to his stomach. "Damn ulcer…"

"Ulcer, eh?"

He turned to see a man with bleached-white hair in front of him, his jacket a mess of studs and chains. Shino stared at him, almost unsure if it was him who'd said it. He sounded so sure of himself, while his appearance suggested he wouldn't even care about anything. The man looked familiar–oh! He'd been at the funeral, standing over next to Hana.

The man spoke again. "Are you _sure_ it's an ulcer? You may have just had a rough night and not realized it. Kiba can get pretty wild."

Shino's face paled when he realized what the man had meant. "What? N-No. Listen, I'm not _involved_ with Kiba. Why is everyone assuming that? I'm _straight_!"

The man extended his hand and coughed slightly, obviously a bit embarrassed that he'd potentially outed Kiba without his permission. "U-Ukon. I work at the hospital. It's my day off, but if you'd like, I could take you over there or something. I mean, if you think it's an ulcer, I could pull some strings and have them take a look at you real quick…"

Shino gave a sigh of relief and shook the man's hand firmly. "Really? That would be a lot of help."

"Yeah. That way you could get a prescription that actually _works_. Advil and Aspirin are only going to curb the pain, not help the ulcer. Geez. Why are so many people like that? They think everything turns fine once the pain stops…"

"I'm well aware. I've had an ulcer before, you know. I'm just not getting any help from the girl up there."

"Of course you wouldn't be getting any help." His voice grew a little louder, and he glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. "She knows _shit_. She couldn't help lead someone with perfect vision through a pitch black room if she were blind for ten years."

She shot him a dirty look, growing slightly angry. "Don't take that tone with me, Ukon."

"Oh whatever, Okyou. You're only working here because you need the money for a bigger pair of _breastsss_." He drew that last word out nice and slow, making sure to smile at her disdainfully.

She glared at him, and he just nodded his head in Shino's direction. Shino turned to leave, but before he even got to the door, he heard her screech. "You asshole! Five pieces of licorice, that's a buck twenty-five! I don't care _how_ much you love licorice! You can't just keep stealing it!"

Ukon just laughed in her face. "But it's _free_!" He dashed over toward the door, pushing on Shino playfully. Shino stared at him for a moment until the girl started storming out from behind the counter. He stepped out of the door quickly, Ukon right behind him.

They grabbed Akamaru and got out of there, and as they dashed off they could still hear her screeching.

"You'll never grow up, Ukon!"

–––––––––––––––––

There were a few routine tests until the doctor came by and scribbled out a quick prescription. He looked slightly wary of Shino, being naturally suspicious of him because he was out of town. Regardless, the tests didn't lie and the man really did have an ulcer. He wasn't just doing it to get painkillers for illicit use.

Shino thanked the man, shaking his hand and walking out to the waiting room, where Ukon was waiting for him and talking to a man with pale, pale skin and hair that was so light blond that it looked white. The man looked very frail, with puffy red circles under his eyes and a tired look to them. He had a few bandages on his hands, where I.V.'s had surely been stuck, and he was carrying a pair of hospital footies with him.

Shino stared at them for a moment before Ukon waved at him, taking a big bite of licorice–he'd already eaten his stolen sticks; now he was eating the ones Shino had received for free. "Come 'ere! This is one of Kiba's friends from way back when! His name's Kimimaro!"

The pale man looked over at him, waving his hand thoughtfully. Shino walked over and nodded his head curtly in return toward Kimimaro, holding onto the slip of paper in his hands like it was his lifeline. A wave of pain shot through his belly and he wondered if it would really be the best time for a chat.

Kimimaro turned back to Ukon, a puzzled look on his face. "Who's that?"

"Him? I don't know his name. Apparently he's a friend of Kiba's, but Kiba never mentioned him at all. Not even a name. In fact, he didn't mention life in the city either. I think he hated it there…"

Shino's eyes narrowed as Kimimaro glanced back at him skeptically. "Then…why is he here?"

Ukon shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Maybe he thinks Kiba will actually go back with him? Whatever. He's a friend of Kiba's, so I have to play nice. That means you do, too."

Kimimaro gave him a small smile, coughing a little. "…As if I don't… I'm too weak to pull any of the antics we pulled back when we were kids. I'm just glad Kiba's back. He's staying with us, right? I still need to catch up with him."

Ukon nodded his head. "Hell yeah, he's staying. No way I'm going to let him go back to the city. Not when he's got _us_ here."

"I'm Shino."

Both of the men turned to look at him, a slightly amused look on Ukon's face. _'Gotcha!'_ Ukon thought. _'Just as much of a closet case as Spidernerd!'_He grinned, speaking out loud. "Shino. Shino what?"

"Aburame. Shino Aburame."

The two men exchanged looks before Ukon started to laugh. "What? You a cockroach?"

Kimimaro smiled. "Seems more like James Bond, to me…"

Shino just glared, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. Why were they picking on him? It was obvious they wanted Kiba to stay with them. He'd be damned if he let that happen. Kiba would be leaving with him, damn it. Even if he had to drag him kicking and screaming back to the city.

Ukon nodded his head confidently. "This guy's got nice eyes, though. And his hair's not too shabby, either. Way better than at the funeral yesterday… Nowhere near as good-looking as Kidoumaru, though." Ukon turned and grabbed Shino's arm. "Come with us…_Roach_. We have much to talk about. It's about Kiba. My pal has to pick up some pills from the pharmacy and you need to pick some up, too, so we might as well all wander over there and…_talk_."

Shino could tell right away he wasn't going to enjoy their company at all.

They left the building, Kimimaro lagging behind a bit. As much as he hated to admit it, Shino was just a bit curious about the man. He'd never seen him before in his life. And he hadn't been at the funeral. Was he really a friend of Kiba's? What was Ukon to Kiba, anyway? What did he think of Ukon? Ukon certainly seemed to have something against him–was it because he was trying to get Kiba to go back to the city with him? He seemed to think they were involved, but that was crazy. Kiba and him were just friends.

…Why the hell did he even _care_ what Kiba was to any of these guys?

Akamaru bounded over toward them and stood right in front of Shino, the leash in his mouth. Shino took it, smiling a little. Well, at least there was _one_ friendly face. They all started to walk down the street, back to the pharmacy. His stomach was killing him.

Ukon looked at him, stating matter-of-factly, "I don't think you should try and convince Kiba to go back to the city."

Shino glared at him. He _knew_ it! Well, he'd already prepared himself for this. "Why not?"

"Because, he's much happier here. And that's what his mother wanted. I spoke to her every time I had free time while she was stuck in a hospital bed. She said she wanted Kiba out of the city and back home where he belonged. You don't want to go against his mother's wishes, do you?"

"…That's for Kiba to decide. Not his mother."

"Look, you wouldn't like Kiba anyway. He's got more secrets than you can shake a stick at!"

Shino glanced back at Kimimaro, choosing to change the subject entirely. "Why are you sick?"

Kimimaro coughed a little. "Anemia. They say it's some freak form of hemophilia or something. My body heals at an abnormal rate, but I have a low red blood cell count so I get tired often. At the more intense lows I have a low white blood cell count and wind up at the hospital for the simplest illnesses." He pursed his lips together, giving him an appraising look. "…But that's not the subject, is it?"

Ukon seized Shino by the shoulder, nodding his head. "Yes, Roach. That's not the subject. I really think you should just leave right now. Kiba doesn't need you as much as you think he does. He has his old friends here. We've been with him far longer than you, so we know things about him you probably don't."

"What? That he's _gay_? I'm well aware he's gay."

"Has he told you anything about us?"

"Well, no…but he did mention something about him and his friends having a friend who's father died. He kept saying something about that friend's mother having a divorce or something…"

"That would be me."

He looked back at Kimimaro, nodding his head. "Yeah. He mentioned stuff about his friends back home… He also said his father found him in bed with a man and kicked him out of the house."

"That would be Kidoumaru. That nerd has had a crush on him ever since he kicked some guy's ass who was stepping on Spiderman's spiders. What kind of freak befriends _bugs_?"

Shino's cheeks went slightly pink upon hearing the man behind him state that so coldly. He didn't even want to think of what they'd think of him if he mentioned he…sort of did the same thing only with roaches. Instead, he retaliated with his…somewhat _vast _knowledge of the dog-lover he'd accumulated from his conversations with Kiba. "He also liked Pound Puppies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat. He continued watching 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' into high school. His parents train and breed dogs. He can't sleep in silence; and he and his sister shared a room. And he said he _loved_ it in the city."

Kimimaro and Ukon exchanged looks, completely stunned. Finally, after a while, Ukon leaned over toward the pale man, whispering. "He said he hated 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' when we asked him about it junior year, right?"

Kimimaro nodded his head a little and leaned over, whispering something Shino couldn't hear. Ukon nodded his head, completely agreeing with him. Finally, Ukon turned back around to Shino, his face stiff.

"Did he tell you I used to fuck him all the time in high school?"

Shino glared. "No. He doesn't know I know he's gay."

Ukon snickered. "Good. Because that makes our job so much easier. And I never fucked him, by the way. Just my twin brother…fucked him. I…didn't fuck my twin brother; Kiba did. So…don't go getting all jealous and hating _me_."

Shino's face stiffened this time. "I'm not jealous." He found they'd reached the pharmacy, and started tying Akamaru to the fire hydrant, that slip of paper still in his hands.

The two old friends exchanged looks before Ukon walked into the pharmacy. "I hear it's nice in Egypt this time of year…"

Kimimaro followed him in, a tiny smile on his face. "I hear the Nile's even nicer…"

Shino glared at them, clearly hearing those lame jokes and seeing right through them. Screw them. He wasn't in denial. He and Kiba were just friends. That was it. And he wasn't jealous. He was just angry at them because they were probably the biggest obstacles to get across after Kiba got over his mother and he finally had to convince him to come back to the city with him.

–––––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba sighed a little, going back to the same office. Because Hana knew how upset it would probably make him, they'd lagged around, driving around town for quite some time before they finally made their way to the office. It had been about two hours since they left around eleven. He was pretty sure he saw Akamaru outside of the pharmacy. What was he doing _there_, anyway? He shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts focused.

He couldn't stand it. Another message from his mom? What…_Why _did she insist on making him suffer so much? Each time he even thought about her he had to repress the urge to go find a bottle of whiskey stowed away in Dad's stashes. And if Shino saw him, he'd surely throw it out. He really wanted to go to a bar… At least then he could get away from Shino for a while.

Hana grabbed his hand as they took their seats and Mr. Tobitake pulled out another VHS tape. He was ripped from his thoughts again, and he looked down at her hand, starting to feel uncomforta– Why was their great grandmother's engagement ring on her finger?

He stared at it for the longest time, finally looking over at Hana. She had started making herself up to look prettier. All the previous week she looked a mess, except for the day of the funeral and today. The only eventful thing other than the funeral was the arrival of Shino and Akamaru and– His face paled, and he leaned over.

"Hana…?"

She lifted her hand to motion for Tobitake to stop and looked back at her brother. "What is it, Kiba?"

"Why are you wearing that ring? You're not engaged."

She leaned over, side-glancing at Tobitake. "I…I know that, but…I…don't want him hitting on me. It's for sentimental reasons, too. Just…let's watch the video, alright, Kiba?"

She turned back around a bit quicker than he expected, and his eyes narrowed. Why the hell would she give him such an obvious lie? He'd have to stew over that later. Tobitake flipped the video to run, and he soon became distracted by the television.

His mother was settling back in her bed, coughing slightly. "Thank you, Hana. I'm sure you made my eulogy lovely. To be honest, that man always rubbed me the wrong way. Ever since…that bastard Sakon–no offence, Ukon, but he _was_ a bastard–"

There was a voice from the camera, a chuckle. "It's alright, Ms. Inuzuka. He _was_ a bastard."

Tsume cleared her throat again. "Well, the man always rubbed me the wrong way. My Bible Study teacher, I mean. I would ask him to pray for my kids and he'd pray for you, Hana, but not Kiba! The only man who actually gave a damn about Kiba was the pastor, so I wound up being closer to him than anyone else there. The rest gave me dirty looks after Kiba was found out to be gay, but were completely dear to me when I started going to church… One woman actually came up to me and told me she was happy I was trying to make up for being such a terrible parent and raising a child in sin!! I figured I'd stir up some trouble at my funeral because none of them really gave a shit about me anyway. That's the way I've always wanted to have it–people arguing up a storm. It makes up for everything being far too depressing than it should be. I'll bet all of you your inheritance that same fucking cunt who told me I raised my little pup wrong was one of the ones that gave you the most trouble." Her eyes went bitter, and she stared off into space, as if the woman was right in front of her. "You…ugly cuntrag … At least I _had_ children. No man would touch _you_ with a four foot pole…"

She laughed, waving her hands of her anger in a flash. She came back down to earth, looking directly at the camera again. "I suppose you tried to be a diplomat at first, Hana? You're like your father in that aspect. Your father was quite the diplomat back when he was younger. In fact, his parents hated me. That's why we rarely visited them. I changed him from a promising law student to a dog-training, dog-breeding alcoholic after the first meeting."

She laughed again and cleared her throat.

"Of course, you both know that…which is why I feel it's important to mention what he said before he died. I never told you all because you weren't around at the time he died and when you both came down for the funeral, I was too upset to tell you. But, now is the time to say it. …Your father said he was sorry, Kiba." She laughed, tears coming to her eyes. She put a hand to her cheek. "He said you could do a lot worse…which, coming from him at the time was as good as saying he loved you very much." She wiped at her eyes. "And Hana, he said he was proud of you, too. He said he wanted you to find someone better than him to marry, that you deserved someone more understanding than he ever was. …He…He hated himself so much after he kicked you out of the house, Kiba…" She wiped at her eyes again, motioning toward the camera.

"Ukon, come here, please…"

There was some shuffling around and bumping of the camera, until finally it was set down on what appeared to be a tray of food sitting against the bed, according to the small fork in view of the lens.

Soon, Ukon had taken a spot next to Tsume, staring at the camera with that playful gleam in his eyes. Their mother looked at him, laughing a little and grabbing his chin, shaking his head around playfully. She looked back at the camera, showing his face to it. "Don't let this sweet face fool you, Hana. He would look through your underwear drawers every time he visited Kiba after you went off to college. The little pervert. Your father's twice the man he'll ever be. Find yourself a man who doesn't have the same taste in music as I do. A punk like him will only bring you trouble, no matter how sweet he may be…"

Ukon went red, frowning a little. "I only did that once when I was _thirteen_… And I'd treat her _very_ well, Ms. Inuzuka. You have no right to say I'd bring her trouble when you actually went to concerts and got drunk while you had a child at home."

She laughed, tossing him out of view again. She looked straight at the camera. "He says he's going to kidnap you if you're not married by forty. Kick his ass for Mommy, won't you? He's an evil little boy at heart…"

"Am _not_, Ms. Inuzuka…"

She cleared her throat, pointing at the camera and looking at him. "Go pick the camera up again." He did so, and the angle adjusted itself again. She started to speak.

"Kiba, I gave you the house so you could cope easier. I have no intention of you staying there. One of these days you'll have to move on. The last thing I want is for you to stay in this town. The people here hate you. Go someplace where you'll be loved as much as I want you to be loved. Sell the house or give it to some charity as a shelter for dogs or something. Do something with it, but please, for me, don't wallow around in pain in that house. I couldn't bear it if I found out you were doing that… It would break my heart all over again…"

Tears made their way to her eyes. "And that's all I have to say…so I guess this is good-bye…again. It's…It's not enough time… There should be more things I want to tell you… There's so much…" For a while she sat there, her face in her hands, sobbing. She waved her hand at the camera. "T-Turn that thing off, Ukon. …L…Let me compose myself."

There was a slight blip and the picture changed completely–the sun was setting in the window next to her. She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I think…yes. Alright. Good." She turned back to the camera. "I love you both so much. Please do your mother proud. ……B…" She put her hands to her mouth again and sucked in a breath.

She released her hands from her mouth, her voice feeble. "…G-Good-bye." Tears made their way to her face again, and the screen went black.

Kiba felt his heart tearing to pieces. He was saying good-bye all over again. It was…painful. And not just because Hana was squeezing his hand so tight he thought she was about to shatter the bones. She was crying heavily, and he finally reached around and captured her in a hug.

"C-Come on, sis… Let's get this paperwork done and you can go cry on Juugo's shoulder when you get home…"

She looked up at him, her face looking a mess. "Don't…D-D-Don't be so calm about this. I know you're just as torn up about this as I am."

He frowned pitifully, his breathing catching in his throat. It was hurting him to see her like this. His chest was actually starting to ache.

"I…I'm _so_ sorry, Hana. I've cried all the tears I can. …It's your turn now…"

–––––––––––––––––––

Juugo was sitting on the front porch, staring at a girl riding by on her bicycle. He felt so at peace here. He felt like he could stay here forever. It was like heaven to him. All of his problems just seemed to fly right out the window. He glanced over at the dog sitting next to him watching the girl ride by on her bicycle as well.

The dog merely grunted a feeble, "Cuntrag". Juugo smiled sadly, reaching down and patting the old dog on the head.

"You miss Mom, don't you? You probably went through a lot over the four months she was sick. I'll bet it drove you crazy."

The dog looked up at him as if he was an idiot, before it barked a soft, "Yes."

He nodded. "Yeah…"

The door behind him opened, and Shino came out carrying a tray of lemonade. Two white-haired men came out behind him, and Juugo rolled his eyes. Ukon and Kimimaro had been here for the past hour, pestering the poor man like crazy and asking him all sorts of questions about his sexuality. It was slightly humorous, because he knew they were just doing it in Kiba's best interest. They were trying to convince Shino he was in denial, but all it seemed to be doing was shoving him even deeper into whatever closet he lived in. Now Shino was even going on about how he masturbated ten times a day because he couldn't get enough pussy.

"Hey, give me some of that, Roach!"

Shino handed the more talkative of the two a glass of lemonade, and the man drank it eagerly. He whistled as he finished off the glass.

"Man, Roach, you're a master of making lemonade."

Kimimaro grabbed a glass, taking a sip. He spit it out, glancing at Ukon like he was a complete idiot. "I think we should leave, Ukon."

"…Why?"

"Because he just gave you a glass full of dog piss."

Ukon's jaw dropped, and he started looking green. "Wh-Wh-What!? _Dog piss_!? You gotta be shittin' me!" He grabbed the glass from the white-haired man, taking a sip. He spit it out, swearing to high heaven. "You're fuckin' right! What the hell!? That's not ordinary piss! I could've sworn I drank lemonade! Which dog's piss did I drink!?"

Shino just stared at him blankly. "…Akamaru's."

"What the hell kind of trick is that, you sneaky bastard!? You want to get rid of us _that_ much!?" Shino just stared at him like he didn't even know why the man was asking.

Kimimaro sighed, gently nudging him off the porch. Ukon was swearing a blue streak, shouting at Shino that he was going to puke in the bushes. Amazingly enough, the man seemed to have an iron stomach and it never happened.

The other man waved to Juugo, smiling a little. "We had a nice chat, Juugo. We should definitely continue it sometime…" He glanced back at Ukon, who was giving Shino the finger as many times as he could in one go, using as many methods as possible. He sighed, turning back to the larger man. "…Without Ukon being a jack-off, hopefully."

Juugo returned the wave, nodding fervently. "Of course. It was nice talking to you as well. See you later, Kimimaro."

The men walked off, and Shino dumped the glasses out in the flowerbed at the foot of the house. He sighed, taking a spot on the wall next to where Juugo was sitting and setting the tray with empty glasses on it on the porch beside him. "I thought they'd never leave…"

Juugo smiled. "Ukon's a bit of a handful."

"He's troublesome."

Juugo did not know Shikamaru, so he didn't get the joke. But he laughed at something else, staring at the empty glasses on the table. "So you _really_ gave them dog piss?"

"…No. I actually just dumped most of the salt in the house into the mix and hoped they fell for it."

Juugo's laugher died. "…Oh…that's not nearly as funny…"

"Well, I tried. But Akamaru wasn't cooperating even after he drank about three gallons of water when he got home…" He shrugged. "But Ukon was right. It wasn't ordinary piss."

"I've been meaning to ask, Shino…"

Shino groaned, expecting the worst. The last thing he wanted was for people to ask about his sexuality again. He was hoping Juugo was the _one_ person he could trust to not bring it up. That and Kiba, but that was _Kiba_.

"What are you going to do when your four weeks of vacation are up and Kiba still refuses to go back to the city?"

Shino's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't need to worry about that, because he _will_ agree to go back with me. I don't know how I'm going to convince him yet, but I'm fairly sure he will get over his mother as long as I'm here."

"…And what are you going to do when he goes back to the city? I spoke with Hana. Jiraiya has a contract with Kiba that says if Kiba comes back, he has to allow him to have his job back. But that's only if there's a job open for him. A temp probably took over his job by now…"

Shino cleared his throat. "…I'm not sure. Something will present itself. I know it will."

"You sound so confident."

Shino looked back at him, looking completely serious. "Can't you feel it? If Kiba's mother hadn't died, you wouldn't have realized how much you needed Hana and it probably would've been forever before you realized you wanted to marry her… I can't explain it. I just feel…like something will come out of this. I have a feeling that everything will work out fine in the end."

Juugo stared at him for a long time, before he finally smiled. "And what do you think her death will contribute to Kiba?"

Shino sighed, glaring up at the sky. "I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm sure when all of this is over he's going to be stronger. _That_ I'm sure of. But something in my bones tells me that's not all…"

"Your _bones_?"

"…I…can't describe it." He admitted, twisting his fingers together anxiously.

There was a sound from the street and they looked up to see the car driving back. It parked behind the van, and Kiba stepped out of the driver's seat. He walked over, helping Hana out of the passenger's seat. She was crying, from what the two men on the patio could see.

Juugo immediately stood, and Kiba led her to the porch. He deposited her in Juugo's arms and gave the far larger man a long, long look. Finally, he punched him in the arm, bringing their eyes to meet. He pointed at the much larger man's eyes with two fingers, bringing his fingers back to his own eyes. There was more silence between them as Hana stared at her brother, puzzled, and Juugo stared into his intense eyes. Finally, Kiba spoke.

"I don't want you on my couch. Find someplace else to sleep."

He stalked back into the house, slamming the door behind him in a fury. Shino winced. The two men on the porch exchanged looks and Hana groaned into Juugo's chest, all three saying the same thing:

"He knows about the engagement."

–––––––––––––––––––

Shino stared out into the backyard, at Kiba drinking from yet another bottle of whiskey on the table. Where did he keep finding these? Surely they must've been hidden somewhere. Shino walked out the back door, going and sitting next to him. He watched the shorter man for the longest time, just watching him guzzle that booze like it would save him.

Kiba finally got fed up with the way Shino was staring at him and tossed it into the side of the house angrily, where the bottle promptly shattered. He turned back to Shino, glaring.

"There. _Now_ will you stop staring?"

Shino turned his head away, toward his hands, and Kiba just growled. He clenched his fists. "_You_ knew about it, didn't you? That Juugo would come down here and bring that fucking ring. That he'd pop the fucking question? You _knew_. And…And you didn't even tell me! Juugo and Hana kept their mouths shut about it, too. If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's people keeping secrets from me because they think I'll get upset about it. They wonder _why_ I get upset? It's because they fucking keep secrets from me!" He glared at his hands, clenching them even tighter. His nails looked as if they were starting to dig into the flesh of his palms.

Shino stared at him, his stomach starting to churn. He looked back at his hands, taking a deep breath. That was right. He had no reason to keep it a secret any longer. Whatever the outcome, he had to tell Kiba. Sure it might be awkward afterwards, but things were already awkward, so it wasn't like it would be that much of a change.

"Kiba…do you remember when we first met?"

Kiba turned and looked at him, his face softening just a little. "Yeah. I do. What of it?"

"Well…you said you were supposed to meet someone there?"

Kiba nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. I had a blind date. What's your point?"

"Well, you had a date…and, well…your blind date was…" He took a deep breath, rubbing a hand through his hair anxiously. Finally, he sighed. "Your blind date was a coward." He was unable to say anything, and now he was starting to think he knew what made that ulcer pop back up again.

Kiba stared at him as if he was completely stupid. What the hell. Why would Shino bring something so pointless up? It was obvious he was trying to make him forget about being angry. Shino was always nice like that… He looked away, his chest growing heavy. It felt like he was breathing in thick air or something, and he took a deep breath, looking slightly less upset than before.

"S-Sure my blind date was a coward…but…look at what I got in return…"

Shino turned and looked at him, and Kiba shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at him. He frowned a little, and Shino could tell he was meaning to smile but was too upset to do so. "I mean, she never showed and all, but…I wound up meeting _you_, didn't I? And…you're willing to drive all the way down here for me, so I guess that makes up for a failed date, right? I got a friend no one could ever replace in the process. Well, I'm sure Ukon would bring Akamaru across practically four states just for me, but I've known him for years. I've only known you for about four weeks and you'd still do that for me."

Shino felt his cheeks go slightly pink, and he nodded his head again, looking down at the grass. "Yeah…but I made you really upset by coming…"

"So? My mother died and I thought you were trying to get me to forget about her. But I was wrong…" He squeezed his hands anxiously. "T-Tomorrow when I wake up…I'm probably going to wake up numb again, and I'm counting on you to try and get me out of that…"

"I'm not great with people, though. I'd probably fail miserably. As a friend, I'm probably nowhere near as comforting as Ukon."

Kiba patted him hard on the back and jumped off the table, going to the back door. He looked back at him, nodding his head a little. He just couldn't get the image in front of him out of his head, and, quite frankly, he didn't want to. The man's hair wasn't as frizzed as it usually was; his dark eyes had a hint of sadness in them but were just as collected as they normally were. His lips were slightly parted, and he'd even managed to take off that trench coat for longer than four seconds. Hot damn, Shino looked _sexy_ today…

"Deny it all you want, but I hit the jackpot when I met you, Shino."

* * *

_Yes! The last of the infernal "The Funeral" chapter titles! I wonder what I'm going to name the next one_…_ Onto my question I discussed before. Constructive criticism. I kind of need some in regards to the cramped-ness. If you want to review, it doesn't really matter if you don't want to lend me advice. But. Just know. Constructive criticism is appreciated just as much as reviews._


	22. A Confession: Side A

_I'll only have Saturdays off to write this story when school starts on Monday. That is, unless I finally get off my lazy ass and get a job. Nineteen without ever having a job? PATHETIC. Whatever. I give myself a hard time as it is._

_Just know. Updates will be less frequent until Thanksgiving, in which I'll probably wind up going to visit family and writing up a storm, only to come back home and realize all of my chapters are too short… I have this thing with paper… I'll write a lot and then type it up and realize it's barely 2,000 words…_

_Anyone want to know why I decided to make it mature even though I could have done a lot worse in that wet dream chapter 20?_

_The word 'thrust'. And I'm not even joking. If I hadn't had that in there, I wouldn't have made it mature. _

_I have a lot of torture planned ahead for poor Shino. After all, he hasn't even spoken with his dad the entire fic! What?? Neither has Kiba, but at least his father got a speaking line in a flashback!_

_I sort of like the fact that Shino gets no flashbacks. It adds to the parallel between this story and the show. I was joking around with my friends and we all came to the conclusion that the reason why Shino's past isn't explained in the show is because he's an illegal. Like…he came from some random war-torn country and never got registered in all the confusion. Forget the fact that his clan actually HAS a surname and wicked cool ability while TenTen has neither. TenTen is in the same predicament, okay? War-torn country and all that business. Hell, they probably were best friends (an infant and a one-year-old can _totally_ be BFF's) until they left the country they came from. Shino's mother and TenTen's parents were killed in the process, so she totally lives with Shino and his father and acts as Shino's surrogate mommy. They never tell you that in the anime because it would be too confusing and poor Shibi would start getting pedophile jokes about him. Don't ask why anyone in their right mind would leave a war-torn country only to wind up in Konoha, where the nine-tailed fox beast is rampaging. It was the confusion, I tell you. Hence why Shino and TenTen never got their papers. The nine-tailed fox beast ate them._

_**Random man:**_ What the hell? What possessed you to flee from your country only to come near a place where there was a demon rampaging?_  
__**Shibi:**_ I have a wife and son! Please don't ask questions!_ –looks on in horror as one of the fox-beasts tails swings by and tosses his wife into a tree; looks back at the man– _I have a son! So let me in!_ –looks on in horror as his friend and his friend's wife are picked up by a tail and tossed into the air only to fall to their deaths and leave their daughter, TenTen, behind; looks back at the man– _A son and a little girl!_ –picks her up and places Shino in TenTen's bitty hands- _Shino! Say hello to your new mommy!_ –turns back to the man- _So can I come in or what!?_  
__**Random man: **_Whatever man. It's obvious you're crazy just by looking at you… I suppose you don't have your– _-stares on as a tail swoops by and their papers get caught on it, flying away-_ This job sucks. Why am I still at my post at a gate when it's already been torn off its hinges by a demon? You know what…just come in here. I won't tell if you don't.

_Didn't like that, did you? Of course. Not many people would. That's why it's never shown in the anime. _

…_What was I talking about? Can I go for two seconds without changing the topic? I need my medication…_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 22_

Just like he'd said he would, Kiba woke up numb again. He wandered into the kitchen mutely, taking a spot at the very end of the table. Hana was sitting at the very edge of the table, and Juugo was re-dressing her foot. Of course, with the stitches Kiba had put in, that wasn't really necessary, but Juugo felt it was better to be safe than sorry.

He looked at them objectively, poking them a little. He looked up at her, smiling. "It doesn't look like your foot is getting an infection. Just stop trying to wash the dishes, okay? If you're not careful, you might get that hand infected."

Hana sighed, rolling her eyes at him. "Well, I wouldn't have to if I didn't have three filthy men living here and dirtying up the place."

Akamaru wandered into the room and sniffed at Hana's foot until Juugo nudged him away. Shino walked in from outside, holding a leash with him. He put it up on the hook by the door, where all the leashes were. He looked over at them, having heard their conversation as he came up. His face clearly said he found that comment slightly offensive. "…I'm not filthy, Hana. I wouldn't mind cleaning up the rest of this place. I'm sort of getting nervous around all the dust here–it's enough for an army. I was actually thinking about cleaning up the place to begin with… All of that loose glass in the china cabinet is dangerous."

Juugo pointed at him. "Then you've got tidying up and walking the dogs, since you do that already practically. I'll cook meals and wash dishes; Hana and Kiba will just sit back and relax."

Hana sighed. "Man, if only I'd learned how to grill… It would be so nice to have some barbeque this summer. Kiba was really looking forward to it…"

Kiba stood, walking out of the room. He couldn't stand it. He holed himself up in his room, and Shino glanced at him for a while. Finally, he looked down at Hana, slightly concerned.

"You lived out here and never learned how to grill? My old man made sure I knew how to grill when I turned fourteen. It's easy."

Hana looked at him, her mind swirling for an idea. Finally, she smiled. "Good. I'll go to the store tomorrow and we can have some barbeque on Friday." She turned to Juugo, motioning her hand toward him before she looked at both of them. "I'll make sure I get some chicken for you, Juugo… What kind of sauce do you both prefer?"

"It doesn't really matter. But I'm coming with you to the grocery store." Said Juugo.

"Ugh" Shino groaned. "Definitely not spicy. I can't stomach spicy; especially not with this ulcer."

Hana's face lit up. "Perfect! I will be sure to get something mild, then." She looked down at Juugo, sighing a little. "Can I have my foot back now, Juugo?"

Juugo looked up at her, smiling lightly. "I'm not done with it, yet… You shouldn't have such soft feet. I might just eat them…" He kissed one of her toes and it set her off into a fit of giggles. As he planted more kisses on her foot, Shino started walking away, his stomach acting up again. Geez. Did they really have to be so _cute_? As he wandered out of the room, he couldn't help but notice the way Akamaru was staring at Juugo, puzzled as to why the man was kissing _Hana's_ injured foot and not his. The dog whined a little, finally settling to lick at his own injured foot instead.

As Shino stepped into the living room, he could still hear Hana giggling and saying something to Juugo he didn't really hear or _care_ to hear. He was glad at least _someone_ in this damn house was acting happy. If only it were Kiba…

There was a knock on the front door and he went to it. He opened the door, surprised to see Kimimaro standing there. The question never left his mouth as he looked around behind the man at the door, but the man obviously understood and softly said, "He had work today. I'm just here to catch up with Kiba…"

Shino gave him a hard look, and Kimimaro gave him a soft smile. "I don't mind if Kiba goes back to the city. Ukon only cares because his twin brother left home five months ago and Kiba's the only tie he had to his brother and now that Kiba's back, he doesn't want to let him leave. …Do you mind?"

"Yes. I do."

"…Kimimaro?"

Both of them turned to see Kiba staring at the door, his eyes showing a slight flicker in them. Shino bit his lip bitterly. Damn it. Kiba actually looked like he was about to smile. That was terrible. Why couldn't _he_ make Kiba smile?

Kimimaro pushed past Shino, a bit ruder than he normally would allow himself to act. He went to Kiba, grabbing the brunette's hand softly. "Kiba…" The smile on his face grew, as if everything seemed to be alright just by being near him. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to show up at the funeral. I was in the hospital again…"

Kiba's face fell. "Wh-What? You…you never had to go to the hospital before… Is something wrong? You're not even sicker than you used to be, are you?"

"Oh…" He winced visibly, remembering the delicate state Kiba was in. "See, I don't want to rely on my mother anymore so I decided I'd get a job five months ago, and now it's tiring me out more than school ever did… I work in the post office, so…it's pretty difficult, and I've been getting sick easier because of it." He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, giving Kiba a reassuring tight squeeze. "I'm still healthy, Kiba. Don't worry. I'm not as sick as your mother… Just a week of rest and I should be back to my old self…"

Kiba nodded timidly, looking through him. His voice was soft again. "…I want to go to the pond out back."

Kimimaro nodded his head, and both of them walked back to the kitchen, into the backyard, past all the dogs. Shino stared at them, feeling his chest start to ache. Why was Kiba being so friendly to them? So maybe he was a little jealous. But it was only because he wanted to spend some time with Kiba. As a friend.

He grumbled, spying the living room in shambles. What the hell? This place needed to be cleaned up badly. He set himself to making up the rest of the house. He finished fairly quickly in the living room–just a few blankets that had been scattered around. Apparently Juugo was still sleeping on the couch; Shino doubted Kiba knew. If he had, he surely would've yelled at someone or gotten angry.

He walked into the kitchen, where Hana was taking a sip of water from a glass Juugo had gotten for her.

Juugo looked at her. "So…what are you going to tell Kiba…?"

Hana sighed, setting the glass down and braiding her hair idly. "I'm not going to tell him anything about it, of course. After Mom, he'd be worried sick… Ukon says that would probably be a good idea, so he scheduled an appointment for me down at the hospital and agreed to keep his mouth shut about the whole thing… We can go there when Kiba thinks I'm picking up groceries. If you drop me off at the hospital and get the groceries, we won't take a noticeably longer time than normal. Just remember what I asked you to get."

The man sighed, reaching over and grabbing her hand, and kissed the stitches on her hand. "What if I refuse? I can't just leave you alone at the hospital like that…"

Shino walked over, finally speaking up. "What's going on?"

Juugo looked up, sighing. "Well…Kiba's mother had ovarian cancer…and there's a chance it could run in the family. Hana needs to get herself a check-up."

Shino narrowed his eyes. "You shouldn't keep it from Kiba. I'm sure he can handle it. Besides, if they think it runs in the family, you'll have to keep getting routine check-ups. He's going to wonder where you go eventually."

Hana stifled a laugh, her eyebrows rising. "He's _not_ going to be living with me forever, Shino. We're talking check-ups every three or four _years_. The second I marry Juugo, Kiba will have to find someplace else to live."

The man's voice raised, and he clenched his fist. "He doesn't like it when you keep secrets from him."

"He only doesn't like it when he _knows_ we're keeping things from him. He doesn't have to know a thing about this."

"What you're doing isn't fair to him! Jesus, and you _wonder_ why he got so upset the other day!?"

Juugo looked up at him, clearing his throat. "There's no reason for you to get mad, Shino. We're going to tell him eventually, just not right now when he's in such a fragile state of mind…"

Shino stomped out of the kitchen, off to go clean some other room to clear his head. "Like you planned on announcing the engagement later on!? He knew about that, too! He's not as fragile as you two keep treating him! He's thirty now; I'm sure he'll handle it whatever the news! And if not, that's the entire reason I came down here in the first place, so it's not like he's going to be scarred for life!"

As he was stomping out into the hallway, Hana's temper flared. "You have no room to talk, Shino! It's pretty obvious how fragile he is just by hearing _you _make him cry ever since you got here, you asshole!"

He stormed into the master bedroom, cleaning it in a flourish. He didn't even need to do the guest room because he kept it clean enough as it was. That just left the bathroom and Kiba's room. After much debate, he finally decided he'd clean Kiba's last, since the door was closed.

When he finally finished the bathroom and came to Kiba's bedroom, he opened it up wide and was surprised to see twelve bottles of whiskey just lying on the floor. Only one of them looked like it had been drank from, so he figured the others were the remains of whatever stash he kept getting them from.

And so, he did the only thing he could do.

He emptied them all down the sink in the bathroom. Each and every one of them.

He placed them back in Kiba's room where he found them, suddenly feeling like it would be a bad idea for him to clean up the place. After all, Kiba would probably get mad, and surely, since he was gay, there were things he had hidden he didn't want anyone seeing. Shino looked up at the walls, surprised to see they were as bare as the ones in his room at Hana's suite.

He glanced over at one of the bags Kiba had brought with him to see a few posters sticking halfway out of it. Apparently the dog-lover was about to redecorate his room and suddenly stopped… He walked over, looking at the different posters: The Chemical Brothers. Phantom Planet. Gorillaz.

There was a box shoved onto one of the dressers, and he picked it up. There were many CD's inside, most of it filled with The Chemical Brothers and the Gorillaz. There were a few that he didn't see in the posters–The Offspring, The Prodigy, Gnarls Barkley, and a single album from some band called Portishead. He picked it up, mildly interested, only to open it and find no CD in it at all. He turned his eyes to the bed, where there was a pair of headphones and a CD player.

He sighed, placing the CD case back in the box and placing it back where he'd found it.

"Shino."

He nearly jumped, turning to see Hana standing in the doorway. She glanced at the bottles, looking slightly off-put, before she smiled at him. "Thank you for dumping them down the sink. Our Dad also had a bad habit of drinking when he got upset over anything. My mother forced him to quit the habit after Kiba entered high school, but it makes sense that he'd have a few bottles hidden around the house… When it came down to Mom telling him to make personal lifestyle changes, Daddy was stubborn as a mule."

She went and sat down at the bed, looking at the CD in the CD player and sighing a little. She looked back at Shino, smiling again. "Of course, I always had a feeling Mom knew everything any of us got into. She seemed to have some kind of crazy instinct when it came to sensing if something was wrong. I just assume it's due to her life in a rougher part of town…"

Shino nodded, putting his hands behind his back and glancing up at the ceiling, feeling a bit awkward. Hana patted the bed next to her. "Would you like to know more about our mother?"

He looked back at her and she patted the bed again. He took the spot next to her, feeling a bit out of place. She looked a lot like Kiba, but there was something uniquely different at the same time. It wasn't just because she was more feminine; there was something else he couldn't put his finger on… He looked over at her and suddenly it occurred to him–her eyes were completely different. Did she have her father's eyes?

Hana stared at him for a moment, before she stretched a little and looked over toward the window. "Mom was born and raised in the city. She didn't live in a great place like I do now, but she still lived there… That's why I moved there after I got out of high school. It was like being at home and yet not being home at the same time…

"…She grew up in the poor side of town, and it really showed in her attitude. She didn't really care about anyone or anything, and she was always getting into trouble with her friends. She picked up her first cigarette when she was thirteen, and she started doing weed at fourteen. By the time she was sixteen, she was already getting into some of the heavier stuff and getting arrested by the police for sneaking out after curfew and causing trouble, breaking store windows and getting caught with drugs.

"She was a big fan of the New York Dolls and was actually going in and out of clubs, drinking and shooting up while listening to music. When she was eighteen she met my dad, who was twenty-six at the time. My parents gave a different story for how they met. Daddy said he approached her on the street to ask for directions–he was new to the city at the time–and Mom said she stumbled out of a club piss drunk and fell into him… I tend to believe Mom's story, since I'd asked Daddy how my parents met when I was around five.

"My Dad was always really nice, so he wound up taking her back to his place and letting her sleep it off. At the beginning, he'd grown up in the Midwest, in the suburbs. He went to the city to study law, but the second he met my mother that dream went flying out the window."

She went quiet, her hands squeezing together. "Shino, have you ever believed in love at first sight?"

"…Not really…" He admitted, starting to feel a bit anxious. His habit started up, and soon he was twisting his fingers together anxiously.

"Well, somehow something clicked with my parents, because they immediately fell in love. Soon my Dad was going out with her to concerts, making sure she wasn't doing anything stupid. One night he decided he'd try heroin, and that, according to my parents, is the day I was conceived. …My mom wasn't ready to have kids. She was only eighteen, and she still felt like she had way more things to do. Both of my parents loved dogs, and soon they got this idea in their head that they should start breeding dogs back in the Midwest. My mother was actually fairly good with dogs, and she said they'd make more money if they offered obedience school at the same time.

"During that time they stayed in the city, my father earning money to start up this idea of theirs and my mother unable to cope because she was pregnant and still hadn't done any of the things she wanted to do. I was addicted to heroin when I was born since she still took it while she was pregnant with me. She often reminded us that she was twice as scared when I was born than when Kiba was born…both because I nearly died and because she wasn't ready for a kid. She finally kicked her addiction to heroin when I was a year old, and from that point on she had become a big fan of The Ramones and went to their concerts all the time. I pretty much lived alone with my dad until I was six, when she became pregnant with Kiba and had to stay home more often.

"By the time Kiba came around, she'd settled down and gotten tired of all the drugs and parties and concerts. So…that's why Kiba is so precious to her. He was the first child she was happy to have. Of course, she loved me, too, but due to the circumstances, she liked Kiba a bit better.

"…When Kiba was nearly a year old, in April, my parents finally got married. When Kiba was three, they finally had enough money to move out to this town and buy an acre of land. When Kiba was five they finally had started the obedience school. The dog-breeding was a bit harder to come by because they didn't have enough money to breed multiple dogs. They finally settled on Siberian huskies. Considering the weather, it wasn't the smartest idea, but they managed to make it work. Kiba was seven by the time they got their hand of breeding dogs…"

She went silent for a long time, and Shino figured she was done. Finally, he rubbed the back of his head. "Why…are you telling me this?"

"I figured it would help if you knew where we were coming from. Because of my mother's experiences, she wound up spoiling him a bit too much. She tried her hardest to make him ready to leave the nest, but it obviously wasn't enough because Kiba came back home right after he graduated from college… My parents worked hard to get this place started. It's bad enough both of them are dead. Can you imagine what it must be like for him to go back outside and not hear dogs in their kennels? There're so many memories here…so I can see why he doesn't want to leave…"

She put a hand on his shoulder. "But, Shino…he was _born_ in the city, and that's where Mom wants him to be. I truly believe she believed Kiba would grow up when he went to the city. It matures people in a different way than being out here does. My mother knew that. She doesn't want him here. Not only will he be forced to remember her everyday, but he'll be completely alone in a town that hates him."

"He has Ukon and Kimimaro."

Hana rolled her eyes, standing up. "Kimimaro and Ukon can't take the place of _you_, Shino. You're his best friend _now_, and he loves you very much."

She went to the door, about to leave, but Shino looked up at her, eyes filled with confusion. "Wait…l-_loves_ me? Wh-What do you mean…?"

She stared at him, a smile slowly making its way to her face. "Yes. You love him, too, right? He's your best friend, after all… I mean, that's why you came down here, right? You're straight, Shino, so it's obvious it's not like _that_." When Shino gave a nod and a slight sigh of relief, she laughed. "If there's anyone who can cheer him up, it's you. Not Ukon or Kimimaro. All they'll do is prolong his wallowing in pain. I know it sounds harsh, and I know they mean well by coming over here for him…but it's bringing up a lot of memories that will surely make him depressed."

She left the room abruptly, and he watched her leave. So…Kiba loved him and he loved Kiba. That made sense. That made perfect sense. They were both best friends, so of course they would love each other. Shikamaru and Chouji loved each other–they were best friends, too. And Sakura and TenTen, if they ever wound up repairing their friendship.

Yes… That was it. He and Kiba were just really close friends.

He looked down at his feet, surprised to see a little triangle of orange poking out from under Kiba's bed. He groaned, reaching down so he could put it where it belonged. He picked it up and looked at it, only to go bright red.

…So…Kiba kept his porn underneath the bed…?

He stared at the cover, at the half-naked man on the cover, smiling comfortably at the camera. He looked up, eyes drifting to the window, where Kiba was sitting in front of the pond, Kimimaro right beside him. Neither of them moved, and he looked back toward the door, where he heard Juugo and Hana turn on the television. He looked back down, flipping it open. He didn't know why he felt compelled to look–maybe he was just curious–, but before he knew it he was skimming through the–

He knew he was looking at the back of this guy, but it was obvious there was a man right behind him–he could see the arm right there! The picture on the next page wasn't much better. It was the same thing, only the man behind him, had twisted him around and was glancing at the camera wickedly as his mouth slowly closed over the other man's.

His throat went dry, and he couldn't pry his eyes off of it. Just…two half-naked men about to make out. Why…

Why was this turning him on?

He flipped through the pages, looking at each one and feeling his cheeks grow hotter, his throat tightening to where he could barely breathe, the space in his pants decreasing. He was…He was actually getting turned on by this. By _men_. What…Why not women? He'd looked at porn enough times to know that he never reacted to women this way.

He flipped the picture, finally closing it abruptly and slamming it under the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, standing and immediately going straight for the bathroom. It must've been that time he got really sick. It had to have been; he got sick, looked at porn of women, threw up, and now he felt sick every time he saw it. That had to be the case, right? It was just the thought of those guys with women that was turning him on, right?

Right??

About ten minutes later he came out, cheeks bright red. That made seven.

Hana and Juugo were watching television in the living room, but where was–

"Shino."

He turned, coming face to face to with Kiba. He went bright red, stuttering. "Wh-Wh-What i-is it…K…Kiba…?"

Kiba shoved an empty bottle in his hands, his eyes glowering. Kimimaro was nowhere to be found, but that was no concern of his. Kiba must've known it was him who'd gone into his room. What if he found out he'd seen his porn? What would he _do_? It's not like he _wanted_ to suddenly find it attractive or anything!

"You tell me, _buddy_. You seem to have been making a habit of keeping me from drinking the entire time you've been here…"

Shino stuttered, trying to come up with a good lie. Usually he could, but right now he was so anxious and flustered and…well, did Kiba look like those men in th– NO! That's not what he wanted to be thinking at _all_!

Kiba sneered at him, completely unenthusiastic at the moment. "Whatever. It…just…doesn't really matter. Just as long as you didn't go through my stuff. I need my privacy." He gave Shino an appraising look, before he finally muttered pathetically, "You know what? I don't even care about _that_ anymore. Go ahead. Look through my room. It's not like I'll care what you find in there anyway…" He walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.

Shino stared at the door for a minute, trying to keep himself from getting frustrated. What was he supposed to do? What could he _possibly_ do for Kiba that would make him see that he needed to come back to the city with him?

Kiba was gay…maybe he could just…make out with him and hope Kiba would suddenly want to– NO! Bad, bad, _bad_ brain! Why was he even _thinking_ these things!? It was that damn magazine that was making him think this!

He frowned pitifully, grabbing his cell phone off the table and darting out the back door. He dashed out to the kennels, ignoring the dogs trailing behind him. As he slid against the wall of the building and started to tremble, Akamaru bounded over, barking happily.

He let out a loud whistle and Akamaru froze in his spot. The triplets behind Akamaru did, too. Shino stared at them all, utterly surprised. How'd he managed to do _that_? Akamaru started to fidget and Shino shook his head.

"Go play around somewhere else. I'm busy."

The dogs all bounded off, snarling playfully at each other.

Shino didn't even bother to watch them go. Instead, he dialed the number of the _one_ person he could trust with anything right now. The phone rang three times, then picked up.

"Hello! This is Shibi Aburame speaking. May I ask who's calling?"

"Um…your son." He whispered. He…wasn't so sure about this anymore. His dad was probably pissed off at him enough.

Tense silence rang out over the phone, until suddenly he heard a bunch of thuds and the sounds of things toppling all over the place. His father's voice came up abruptly, and it was completely stunned. "Sh-Sh-Shino!! Why haven't you called!? I haven't heard from you in _three_ _years_!! What if I had moved, son!? I would've vanished without a trace, and forget about you trying to find me! Knowing you, you'd just sigh and take it in stride!"

Shino groaned. "Dad…please. I'm…I'm sorry I haven't called."

"It's money, isn't it? How much do you need?"

"N-Nothing, Dad. Just…Just listen…"

"Shino! I'm sure you'd be happy to know I finally managed to make the mayor take down all of the bug lights around the park. So now there's–"

"Dad, I looked at pictures of half-naked men and got turned on by it!" It came out louder than he expected, and he actually looked back up at the house to make sure no one up there had heard him.

His father went silent, and for the longest time Shino thought his father had just up and died right there. Finally, his father started to speak, slow and soft and trying to understand he'd just heard his son say what he thought he'd heard his son just say.

"…You _what_? You…got turned on by looking at half-baked yen?"

Shino resisted the urge to laugh–his father was the only one who ever made him laugh during his childhood; he was always coming up with really lame-brained ways of tickling his funny bone–, and put his hand to his forehead. "D-Dad…does that even _make_ sense?"

"I'm just trying to make sure I heard correctly, Shino! Are you saying you looked at half-naked men and got turned on!?"

"…No." He went sheet white, suddenly remembering how Kiba's father had taken the news. Sure, he hadn't spoken to his father for years, but his father had been his best friend his whole life. What the hell was he going to if he suddenly–

"Oh…well that's disappointing."

He pried the phone away from his ear, staring at it like he couldn't believe he'd just heard that. He put it back to his ear, hissing into the speaker. "D-Disappointing? Shouldn't you be relieved??"

"Oh, hell no, Shino. I've known you your whole life, you know, and not once have you ever taken an interest in sex. I thought you were gay since you showed no interest in girls, but apparently you're not."

"…Well…isn't that a good thing?"

"Shino, I gave up wishing you were a ladies man like me the second I saw you with your second girlfriend and you showed absolutely no interest. I thought you'd be gay, but apparently you aren't even that so I don't know _what_ you are. I mean, how embarrassing would it be to discover my son is a _unik_? Are you sure you aren't attracted to trees? You used to talk to them all the time when you were eleven…"

"T-Trees?" He resisted the urge to laugh again; he _had_ had a habit of talking to trees when he was a kid… "Why would I be attracted to _trees_? Shouldn't you be just as disappointed in that?"

"It's better than being a unik, Shino! I am _so_ disappointed in you for having absolutely _no_ sex drive! I, a _ladies man_, have raised a son who hates sex! Not only is it embarrassing, but the guys down at the bar will laugh in my face! Hell, even _they_ thought you were gay! They'll _really_ let me have it when they find out you're a unik! My good seed, _spoiled_!"

"…This is ridiculous. You're just as crazy as you were back then. That's why I stopped calling, Dad. You're just…weird."

"Not as weird as my limp-dicked son!"

Shino went red. "D-Dad! It's not limp! I am perfectly healthy when it comes to…er…_that_… …Look…I…really did get turned on looking at half-naked men. I thought you'd be angry." He winced, preparing for his father to completely blow up.

"Angry at _you_?" His father chuckled. "I could never be angry at you, my pride and joy, Shino. …Even if you are a queer."

Any relief that would have washed over him was replaced by anger. "I'm not gay!"

"…You got turned on by looking at men, but not at women. That sounds pretty gay, Shino…"

"……" He sighed, feeling tears worm their way down his cheeks. He wiped them away hurriedly, not knowing why he was hiding them–after all, it was obvious in his voice that he was upset. "…Maybe I am… I don't know why I care so much, but I do… I mean…maybe I'm gay. I'm just having an off week. I masturbated twice this week. I usually go for months and years at a time…"

Over the phone, his father sighed, sounding a little disappointed and a little reassuring all at once. "Shino…don't sound so upset over this. You could do a _lot_ worse, believe me. I've been to Tijuana. And…_really_? _Years_? What the hell is _wrong_ with you, Shino? No wonder you haven't called. I'll bet it fell off, didn't it? That's what you get for not using the gift your old man gave you!" Shino just choked a little on some spit accumulating in his throat, and his father sighed again. "…You're still _you_–gay, straight, both or…hell, even _neither_. And you're my son, so I'll accept you whatever you are…as long as you aren't a complete unik. It might take me a while to get used to _that_."

Shino wiped at his eyes again, feeling completely foolish. What the hell was wrong with him? It wasn't like he was attracted to his best friend or anything. That probably would've been awkward. Then Kiba would tell the guys at the office and…and… Wait…there was no guarantee Kiba would even be going back to the city, was there?

"Well, as long as you're on the phone, you might as well tell me what you've been up to for the past three years, you wayward little bastard. I hope you didn't do anything I wouldn't do…"

He stared out at the pond for the longest time, falling silent. His father sighed.

"Don't feel like talking, eh? That's alright. I'll stay on the phone anyway. If you feel like saying anything, just say it."

Shino turned his face back to his feet, feeling something weigh heavily on his chest. Kiba hadn't even reacted when he discovered all his beer was gone. And now Kiba was probably suffering in his room now… He had to do something…but…he was enjoying this too much. He loved just sitting there, listening to his father breathing over the phone. Even when he was younger he and his father would just eat in silence, just listening to each other breathe and basing everything off of that. They'd learned to speak to each other without using words. Both of them knew what the other was thinking just by looking at them. He loved it. His father really was his best friend. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten all about that… Being here with Kiba made him realize he was actually really lucky, despite the fact that he never had a mom…

A smile made its way to his face. "Hey, Dad, do you remember when I'd sneak into your room during the winter and steal all your covers and wrap myself up in them like a cocoon…?"

His father laughed. "Of course I remember that. How could I forget? I'd wake up freezing in the middle of the night, but I'd leave you like that anyway… You'd emerge in the morning, your hair sticking up at even weirder angles than mine. I always waited for the day that you'd emerge and your hair would be sticking up like butterfly wings… It never happened…unfortunately… Say, do you remember that time my friend asked us to go to a comedy club and watch him do his stand-up routine?"

Shino grinned. "We were the only people not laughing at the opening act…until that woman fell off the stage and a sock dropped out of the collar of her shirt. For the life of me I can't remember what the man in the back of the audience shouted out…"

"One-Breasted Sandy, the Stocking-Stuffer!" His father burst out laughing, and Shino soon joined him.

–––––––––––––––––

It was around five by the time Hana noticed Shino was missing and discovered him outside. She walked out, surprised to see him talking on the phone. As she approached, he stopped talking and looked over at her.

"S-Sorry. Just a moment."

He turned back to the phone. "Dad, I need to go. It was nice catching up, but I think it's around dinner time. My friend's sister is here… …Wh-What do you mean, take off my sunglasses and open my eyes? I already have, haven't I? …Sh-Shut up, Dad. It hasn't _shrunk_ since you last saw me…and you're only asking that because you know I'm bigger than you. I'll call you back later…"

He flipped the phone closed and stood up, walking over toward her. "What is it, Hana? Is dinner ready?"

She smiled. "No, but…I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright. Juugo's started on it and it should be ready in about ten minutes or so… Would you like to come back inside?"

Shino nodded, and they both went back to the house. Once there, he immediately went to Kiba's door, surprised to see it was open. Kiba was nowhere in sight, and he went to the guest room. Kiba wasn't there either, so that left the bathroom, the master bedroom, or the living room. The television wasn't on in the living room, so he doubted that. The door to the bathroom was open, so…that just left the master bedroom. Of course, he could've also been in the basement, but there was really nothing down there…

He pondered over it for a short moment before he went to the master bedroom. Kiba was lying flat on back, eyes closed, on his mother's bed. He was taking in deep breaths and exhaling slowly, as if trying to find his center. Shino walked over, watching him for a moment.

When Kiba didn't say anything, Shino started looking around the room for a blanket to put over him. He opened up one of the dresser drawers, freezing at the sight in front of him–a leash and a pair of handcuffs, along with a relatively old-looking bottle of lubricant that warmed on contact. He turned back to Kiba, looking around the room at all of the pictures on the wall. This was his parents' bedroom, and it was separated from what was Kiba _and_ Hana's bedroom at one point by the guest room. He looked down at it, looking back over at Kiba. No way. His mother was a total dominatrix, and his dad was probably a total bitch.

He had a feeling he knew what would get Kiba stop looking so pitifully numb today. Hell, it would wind up either making him either extremely embarrassed or really pissed off, but anything was better than numb.

He nudged the shorter man, and Kiba looked over at him, a bit groggy. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes, and turned around on the bed to face him. "What is it, Shino? Is dinner ready yet? Tell Hana I'm not hungry…"

Shino grabbed his arm, pulling him off the bed and over toward the dresser. He pointed at the leash. "Did you know about this, Kiba?"

Kiba stared at it for a long, long moment, and he finally swallowed. His voice came out twice as timid as Shino expected. "…Yes. I knew about it…" The shorter man scooted past him, making a break for the door.

Shino picked up the leash gingerly. "…Does it run in the family?"

He could practically hear Kiba's heart skip a beat as he skidded to a halt right at the entrance to the room. He glanced over at Kiba, expecting the man to be looking at him with a red face, completely embarrassed that he'd found out his mother was into that, but instead he was met with the most horrified look he'd ever seen Kiba give him.

Shino's face paled, and he looked down at the leash. He hadn't expected Kiba to get _that_ upset…that wasn't the reaction he'd wanted to see at all… Kiba's voice was completely rigid. "Wh-What does it matter to you, Shino? It's…It's not like _you're_ into that… …Are you?"

Shino shook his head, sighing a little and putting it back in the dresser. "Actually. I got kind of turned off to bondage when Karin tied me to the bed our first time and beat me black and blue. I'm still surprised no one noticed. I still have a stubborn bruise that's yellow…" He closed the drawer. "Right on my collarbone. Karin is a total psycho."

Kiba trembled slightly, nodding his head. "Y-Yes…she is… I'm glad I found out about it before I tried to ask her out…"

He turned to leave again, but Shino just stared at him, his voice slightly aggravated. He'd had enough of Kiba talking about women all the time. "Why are you even bothering to lie to me?"

Kiba turned around, his face slightly red. His eyes were averted from him, instead looking over toward the window. "…I'm not lying."

"Yes you are. You're not attracted to women at all."

Kiba's face darkened, and he walked over to shove him. "Wh-What!? I _am_! I _love_ p-pussy! And I can't get enough of t-t-tits!" He shoved him, hard.

Shino fell backwards onto the bed, grabbing Kiba's arm and taking him with him. He rolled over, pinning the shorter man down beneath him. He could literally feel Kiba's breathing quicken. Kiba turned his head away, swallowing. Shino squeezed his shoulder a bit harder than he would've liked. Why was he being so rough?

"You're not, you liar. I _saw_ the gay porn in your room."

Kiba's face turned back to him, and he gulped. "…Y-You did…?" Shino just stared at him, his lips in a tight line. Kiba sniffed. "…S-So… A-Are you leaving now? It's gross, right?"

Shino chuckled, shaking his head. Actually, there was a chance he liked it, too, but there was no point in bringing _that_ up. After all, he needed to give it some time to see if it was true or not before he even dreamed about telling Kiba. He cleared his throat. "So what if you like men…? You could do a lot worse, you know."

Kiba's eyes misted over, and he bit his lip. "…Sh-Shino…please don't say that…"

"But you could. I'm not just saying that to make you feel better…"

"No…I mean…" Tears welled up in his eyes. "It's just…I just found out yesterday that that's what my Dad said about me right before he died… …So… …My Mom said that that was like him saying he loved me… So please don't say that…"

"But…you're my best friend." He closed his eyes, shaking his head a little, finally sighing. "…I'm not good at expressing myself, but your sister talked to me this…afternoon…and…well, I can admit that…I love you…" He chuckled. "…in a totally heterosexual way…of course…"

Kiba nodded his head, the tears flowing down his cheeks. "…Of…course. Because you're straight." He nodded his head again, looking away and shutting his eyes.

"Dinner's ready, you two! Come on!" Hana shouted from the kitchen.

Shino slid off the bed, grabbing Kiba's hand and pulling him up a bit. Kiba sat there for a long time, staring at the floor and wiping at his eyes. He grumbled. "Damn it, Shino, all you've done is made me cry ever since you got here… Stop being such a nuisance."

"You told me you were counting on me to get you to stop feeling so numb. I'm a terrible friend. The only way I can do that is to surprise you or make you cry."

Kiba sighed, falling back into that mute state again. He slid off the bed, shaking his head a little. "You could do a lot worse, too, Shino… I…I hit the jackpot…remember?"

Kiba didn't sound so sure when he said that anymore. For some strange reason he couldn't figure out, Shino panicked–_panicked_–over Kiba not being so sure he was a "jackpot" anymore. He grabbed the shorter man's wrist before Kiba could leave, blurting out something before he even had time to process he was thinking it.

"If you could have sex with _any_ man, who would it be?"

Kiba stared at him, biting at his lip a little. He turned to look at Shino's hand, looking away. He coughed, ripping his hand out of Shino's grip.

"Kidoumaru." He replied.

He walked out of the room abruptly, leaving Shino just standing there to stare at the entrance to the room.

Kidoumaru…

Kimimaro had told him that was the name of the man Kiba had been caught with. So…Kiba still had a thing for him. That made sense. Kiba had seemed so broken up about it back when he had told him about it. Of course, he'd been saying girl then…but Kiba wouldn't ever have to pretend to like girls around him again.

Shino gave a sigh of relief. That was great. Nothing had changed between them. He didn't feel any closer to Kiba at all, nor did their relationship even evolve. (A teeny part of him was timidly telling him the relationship had evolved a _lot_, but he ignored it.)

All of that worrying for nothing. Shikamaru hadn't felt anything, and neither did Chouji. That was because they were straight. So…maybe he just caught himself in a weird mood today. Obviously, since he didn't feel any different, that meant he was straight, too, right?

And yet…he couldn't shake the anger from him. What the hell was so great about a freak that befriended _spiders_? What did Kiba even _see_ in a guy like that? Shino snickered, looking up at the ceiling. This Kidoumaru probably named each and every spider, too… What a loser…

Kiba had the _worst_ taste in men.


	23. A Confession: Side B

_Warg. I decided I'd do another that centered around Kiba. Because he got no love in the past few chapters. It's all Shino. Not that I have any right to complain, seeing as how Shino's my favorite character and all, but whatevs. Of course. I can't just pick one. Shino, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji. Geez, that foursome's just great. I could totally see them all acting buddy-buddy with each other and bickering up a storm. Especially with Chouji in that mix: _

_"Chouji, stop eating those chi-- Wait, you idot, those are Kiba's--"  
"Oh, gross! Kiba! How can you eat Beggin' Strips!?"  
"What are you talking about?? That's bacon!"  
"It's not! It's Beggin' Strips!"  
"Dude, I pity you, man."  
"Tell me about it. Chouji and arguing over food is bad enough... Want to go watch clouds?"  
"I prefer collecting bugs..."  
"Oh...then...n-nevermind..." -secretly eats them instead of actual food and doesn't want to be found out-_

_Shikamaru would totally eat bugs and you all know it. Like when I was a kid and ate food off the ground...and shoved rocks up my nose. Not Shikamaru. He knew better than that. Food off the ground is dirty, bugs are high in protein...and rocks don't belong up your nose. Yum Yum Yum, bugs a-plenty. Shino would be in tears if he found out. (Then he'd probably run away, worried Shikamaru had turned his eyes on him as a potential provider of free food.)_

_"Hey man, give me one of your bugs. I'm starving. ...Actually...wait, those things are tiny. Give me a handful."  
"...Ex...cuse me?"  
"You heard me. Either get up and make me a sandwich or give me a handful of your bugs."  
"Shikamaru...there's a limit to being lazy."  
"Come ooon... Just give me some of your bugs. There's plenty to spare, right?"  
"...I'm...sort of glad I never went with you guys to rescue Sasuke..." -stands up- "Especially since you all _failed_..."  
"LOW BLOW MAN, LOW BLOW."  
"So is asking me for a handful of my bugs so you can eat them. Dick. ...I'll come back with a sandwich." -returns with a sandwich only to eat it in front of him, _vindictively!_-_

_WHERE THE HELL DOES THIS SHIT COME FROM? Can it really all come from my brain?? It's four a.m. and I wound up eating what I was supposed to eat for dinner around eleven. Maybe that has something to do with it..._

_ANYWAY. (Actually, I'm starting to get hungry... D:)_

_This one takes place as the same day as the last chapter, when Kiba talks to Kimimaro by the pond, only it's in _his _point of view (sort of), so you can all see why he reacted to Shino the way he did._

_So. The beginning starts out as that dream he had that made him numb again. The only good thing about this whole ordeal is that Kiba isn't acting as numb as he was in the past few chapters. So. He's getting better.  
_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 23_

_He looked around wildly, staring at all of the green in front of him. Another dead-end. How the hell was he going to get out of here? He turned around and dashed back the way he came, back to the fork in the road. He darted over to the next path, surprised to see the sun was starting to set. He hit another dead-end, then another, and another, and it just kept happening. _

_He halted at another dead-end when he realized he could barely see in front of him. He looked up at the sky, surprised to see there was no moon. He turned around wildly, starting to feel himself grow claustrophobic. Where the hell was he? Why couldn't he get out of this maze?_

_He jogged back the way he came and went down another turn, only to find another dead-end. Surely he'd managed to exhaust them all! New routes just seemed to keep appearing; he just couldn't get out of it. _

_There was a low voice at the end of the dead-end, coming from a figure resting against the bushes._

"_Kiba…"_

_His eyes widened, and he darted out of there, going faster than he'd been going at the beginning. He turned down another road, going down it only to find another dead-end, that figure at the end closer._

"_Kiba…"_

_Kiba spun around, getting out of there. Each time he turned, he wound up in a new dead-end, that figure going closer and closer to him each time. He finally just stopped, terror seizing him. He couldn't go anywhere. Wherever he went, that man followed him, getting closer and closer with each dead-end._

_There were footsteps behind him, to his left, or were they behind him? Hell, he couldn't figure out where they were coming from! That man was coming. He was coming and Kiba was completely exposed here in this intersection. Without another word, he darted off down another route. Everything was going fine, until he hit another dead-end. The man was so close he could see him clearly, despite the fact that everything was in almost pitch black._

"_Kiba…"_

_Kiba trembled. "Sh…Shit!" He turned, hoping to leave, but the man reached out, grabbing the back of his shirt and pulling him back. He screamed, falling back into the other man._

"_Kiba, how could you have gotten away from me so easily…? Why the fuck are you running from me, you little puppy?"_

_He gasped, struggling to get away. "S-S-Sakon! No! Let me go!" He pushed against the arm keeping him close to the man behind him. "No!" He shouted, but Sakon wouldn't listen. There was a hand running down his chest, getting lower and lower toward his crotch._

_He screamed again, elbowing Sakon in the back._

_Sakon laughed continuing what he was doing without so much as a flinch. "You really think you'll knock me off you this time, you fucking idiot? This is a dream, and you're fucking screwed, Kiba."_

_That hand reached toward the button of his pants, unhooking it, and Kiba shot his arms wildly out in front of him, eyes shut, voice screaming. "No! Sakon, don't!! You're not the one I want! Shino!!"_

_A hand reached out of the darkness, seizing his hand and pulling him away with a quick jerk. Sakon was screaming behind him, shouting bloody murder and wailing curses everywhere. Kiba was jerked back, and he looked up to see Shino there, looking just as sexy as he'd looked the night before._

_Before he even knew it, both of them were running. Soon, they were both standing there at a dead-end probably miles away from Sakon. He stared at Shino, biting his lip. "This…This is a dream. And I want you to kiss me. You look so hot right now, I just…I just want __something__. __Anything__! Even if it's a dream!"_

_Shino turned and looked at him, grabbing his hand and walking back the way they came. "You know you're not a lucid dreamer, Kiba. That won't work."_

_He knew he should've gotten angry, but that didn't happen. Instead, Shino turned to a route where they could go either straight or turn left. The man looked back at him. _

"_If you stay on the route you're going, you're going to stay lost in this maze."_

"_There's nothing but dead-ends. We're going to be lost forever in here."_

"_Only because you choose it."_

"_That doesn't make any sense, Shino."_

_Shino turned around, grabbing his chin in his hands and closing his mouth over his. His lips parted, and Shino slipped his tongue in. Kiba's hands reached up to the back of his head, dominating the kiss in an instant. The man in front of him didn't push him away and tell him he was doing anything wrong; Shino submitted completely, finally letting him pull away when he'd had his fill. _

_He pulled back, letting go immediately. Shino stroked his cheek. "You have to stop doing this."_

"_Doing _what_?? I'm not doing anything."_

"_You're staying in this maze because you __want__ to."_

_Anger welled up in him. "I _don't_ want to! I want to get out of here!"_

_Shino grabbed him by the wrist, his fingers digging into it, making him wince. "You don't want to get out of here, you idiot! You want me to keep comforting you! Stop it! The only thing keeping you from leaving here is the fact that you want _me_ to keep coming around and saving your stupid ass! Your parents raised you better than that! It's time to get over it!"_

_Kiba winced again, putting a hand up. "I…I don't want you to comfort me at all. It's hurting me."_

_Shino chuckled. "It's not. If it was hurting you as bad as you made it sound, then why did you gather up all of your father's stash and stick it in your room for me to find it and scold you? That's childish. Stop doing that, Kiba. Take it in stride and cope on your own. Surely your parents taught you that."_

"…_Will you quit bringing them up? My father…he…he kicked me out of the house. He was always harder on me than he was on Hana. If she was the gay one and was found out, he would've accepted her. He favored her over me; I could see it. And…in the end…he…he was still unable to actually say he loved me to my face."_

_Shino grabbed his other wrist, turning him slightly so he was facing to the right of their intersection. "He showed it in different ways. Surely you remember… He loved you very much, even though he never said it. Even though you made him angry by being gay."_

"_What's to say he didn't? He never said it."_

"_He showed it." Shino shoved him backward, and he went tumbling backward into the bushes behind him. _

_Instead of feeling them scratch against his back, there was a flash of white and he fell backwards, landing on the ground. Light was pouring all around him, and he looked up to see it was summer. The smell of barbeque was in the air, and he stood slowly, turning around. There was his family, seated around the table and eating chicken. He walked over, surprised to see a younger version of himself sitting at the table next to his mother. His younger self was nodding at his mother, completely excited. _

"_Alright! I hope she brings me a quarter instead of a nickel this time!" His younger self exclaimed._

_His father chuckled, wiping at his fingers with a paper towel. "You've been so good this year, I wouldn't be surprised if she brought you a dollar. You _are_ her favorite stop to make during the night. She loves seeing you growing up big and strong like your Daddy."_

_Kiba closed his eyes, opening them to find himself inside this time. He heard shouts from the living room and walked in to see himself standing, face-to-face to his father. He was shorter than his father, and he just stared up at him, both of their tempers just as angry._

"_What the _fuck_, Kiba!? You're a faggot!? Why the hell are you with a man, you queer!? Your sister's in the city, making a name for herself as a prosecutor and what the hell are you doing with your life, you fag!? You're just staying at home and barely keeping down a job, getting drunk almost all the time and fucking the first guy who gives you the time of day!!"_

_Kiba swore, shoving his father in the chest. "Kidoumaru isn't the first guy, you asshole! I had many in college and I even dated Sakon for three years in high school! Don't you fucking _dare_ call me a faggot or a queer! The only queer one here is–"_

_His father hit him across the face. "Don't you _dare_ talk back to me! You can't order me around, do you hear me!? So…So _what_!? You don't even give a shit that there's no one to carry on my name!? Hana sure as hell can't! She'll be taking on her future husband's last name! You just decided to throw all of that away!?"_

_Tears started streaming down his face and he rubbed his cheek gingerly. "If…If I could I wouldn't even _be_ gay! You think I _like_ hearing you yell at me!? That I _like_ the fact that I'll never be able to get married and give you a grandchild like you want!? It hurts!"_

_His father burst out laughing. "I'm sure it's _so_ easy for you to make it that simple, Kiba. That you don't have _any_ responsibility in any of this."_

"_I don't! I didn't choose to be gay!"_

"_But you _chose_ to bring a man into this house and fuck him!" He hit him again, causing his son to go falling to the ground. "If you can't even take responsibility for _this_, what makes you think you can take responsibility for anything!? When the hell are you going to stop this, Kiba!?"_

_As Kiba looked on at the two arguing, he couldn't help but remember exactly how he'd felt at the time. He couldn't stop being gay…but…but that wasn't what his father had been talking about. Just like with his mother. His father had been talking about something else and he'd assumed wrong._

"_I _can't_ stop this! Fuck you, Nareta!"_

_His father clenched his fists, going beet red. He steamed, completely enraged that his son would dare call him by his first name. He lifted a finger at him, his hand trembling. "You _can_ stop fucking them in my house, you faggot. You get the hell out of this house and do whatever the fuck you want somewhere else. You're pathetic, weak, _useless_. As long as you're like this, you're no son of mine."_

_His mother stared at the two, finally walking out from her place in the kitchen. She reached over, gingerly placing her hand on her husband's shoulder. When he tossed her hand away, she withdrew, her voice suddenly quiet, weak. "N-Nareta…if he has to go somewhere, at least…at least have him go to Hana. She'll be able to take care of him."_

"_He doesn't _need_ to be taken care of, Tsume. He needs to stop being a sorry excuse of a man! You handle this however you want, but he and that filthy mutt of his have got to be out of this house by the end of the month!"_

Kiba shot up in his bed, sweat pouring from his entire body. He panted a little, rubbing his hands through his hair, his finger getting snagged on a tangle. He looked down to see the rest of Dad's stash on his bedroom floor. There was light streaming through the window, and he looked back up at the ceiling, closing his eyes.

Why was he so stupid? It all made sense. His father hadn't hated the fact that he was gay enough to kick him out of the house. Sure, he was probably extremely disappointed in him and hated that he was gay…but…his main problem was the fact that he'd continued to rely on them. When his father had forced him out of the house, his father was forcing him to grow stronger because he hadn't grown over the course of his college years.

He was so stupid.

And now that Shino was here, he was doing the exact same thing. He'd relied on his parents the second he graduated, he relied on Hana when his father kicked him out of the house…and now…now he was relying on Shino. He hadn't matured at all, had he? He couldn't even tie his own tie, for crying out loud…

He'd been babied his whole life, and now he was trying to get Shino to baby him just because Shino would never return his affections if he went after him.

As much as he wanted to cry, he didn't feel sad at all. As much as he wanted to throw something across the room, he didn't felt angry at all. He didn't feel anything. He was right back to not caring again. He could only hope that Shino… No. He just…couldn't care about that anymore. He was relying on him again. It was weak. _He_ was weak… He was pathetic and weak and useless, just like his father had said.

He groggily stood, shuffling out to the kitchen where Juugo and his sister were arguing over chores or something. Juugo was re-bandaging her foot. Shino walked in, said something. His sister mentioned something about barbeque, and that brought back a wave of memories he didn't want to deal with. So he left.

He went back into his room and drowned out all of the various sounds flitting by his ear with Portishead. It sure did fit his mood…and it was doing a good job of clearing his head. That is, until he heard his sister giggle. He didn't know how he heard it since he'd only been listening to the CD for about a minute or two and it was drowning out the noise from everywhere else, but he did.

He took the CD player off his head and stopped it, placing it on his bed. He peeked out of his room, staring down the hall toward the kitchen. Why was she so happy? He could see the back of Juugo, kneeling on the ground. Aside from that, there was nothing. He crept out, stopping abruptly when he heard Shino talking to someone outside.

The man at the door replied, and his ears perked up. He knew that voice. He drifted into the hallway leading to the front door, connected to the living room, and stared at Kimimaro in the door. Something in him flickered, and he felt relief wash over him.

"…Kimimaro."

Kimimaro pushed past Shino, immediately grabbing his hand softly. "Kiba…" The smile on the man's face grew, and he looked just as relieved as Kiba felt. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to show up at the funeral. I was in the hospital again…"

Panic. "Wh-What? You…you never had to go to the hospital before… Is something wrong? You're not even sicker than you used to be, are you?" He had to catch himself from leaning over just slightly to look Kimimaro over and make sure nothing was out of place, that he hadn't gotten sicker.

"Oh…" Kimimaro winced, and Kiba could tell he'd forgotten he didn't want to say that out loud to him. "See, I don't want to rely on my mother anymore so I decided I'd get a job five months ago, and now it's tiring me out more than school ever did… I work in the post office, so…it's pretty difficult, and I've been getting sick easier because of it." He squeezed his hand, reassuring him that everything was fine.

"I'm still healthy, Kiba. Don't worry. I'm not as sick as your mother… Just a week of rest and I should be back to my old self…"

Kiba stared at him for the longest time before his eyes softened and his voice quieted. "…I want to go to the pond out back." The second those words left his mouth, they both headed to the kitchen, past Juugo and Hana being their cute newly-engaged selves, and Akamaru licking his foot passively.

They reached the pond, and Kiba stared at the water, as if in a trance. He took a seat in the grass; Kimimaro sat next to him, watching him closely. The dogs were running around, but after the two men ignored them, they all ran off to go play somewhere else. Akamaru walked up after a while. He took a spot beside Kiba and lay down, watching his human-friend just as closely as Kimimaro was.

After a while, Kimimaro nodded his head a little, his gaze turning to the water. "I remember this pond well… Sakon and Ukon got really excited and somehow you all pushed me in the water, so I started screaming that I couldn't swim… But you pulled me out before my head even went under…"

"…Did you ever see my mother when she was in the hospital?"

Kimimaro looked at him, sighing a little. "Yes. I did." He smiled. "Every time she saw me she would yell down the hall for me to get my ass over next to her." He chuckled. "We'd get into conversations on how much of a pain it was to go to the bathroom with an I.V. sticking out of our arms. I'd go in really sick sometimes, though and she couldn't visit. The week before she died, she visited me in my room and, despite the fact that I had pneumonia and it was just as bad for her to get near me with her white blood cell count so low, she stayed with me for an hour. When they found her in my room, they told her she had to leave. She told me to hang in there and left…"

He looked down at his fingers, smiling sadly. "She said I couldn't die until you came down and discovered she was dying so I could comfort you…" He chuckled. "I told her you wouldn't need me with Hana around…"

Kiba looked at him, sighing. "…I _do _need you, Kim."

The other man looked at him in surprise that he'd called him that nickname after so many months. He scooted over a bit closer toward him, looking back to the water for the longest time. He smiled, as if he felt completely at peace with himself at that moment. "Kiba…I missed you a lot after your father kicked you out of the house. …I always liked you better than Sakon and Ukon."

Kiba sighed. "…I didn't like you more than them. I wish I had. It would've saved me a lot of heart-ache in the end."

Kimimaro leaned over toward him, whispering in his ear as if someone would overhear. "Don't tell Ukon, but I was really happy after the twins stopped being your friend. I got you all to myself and the rest of the guys for a good two months."

Kiba stared at him. "You…knew that Sakon was involved with me, right?"

Kimimaro's eyes darkened. "Of course. He was always bragging about it every time he got me alone. He knew I was jealous, but he thought I was interested in you as well. I was just jealous that you spent more time with them than you did with me."

He frowned, looked over at him for a while before his face fell. "Kiba…I need to ask you something…"

"What?"

"…Are you…" He went slightly pink, looking back to his fingers. "Are you interested in anyone right now?"

Kiba pursed his lips, staring at how uncomfortable Kimimaro was acting. He rubbed his hair, something settling at the pit of his stomach. "K-Kim…are you…uh…are you _interested_ in _me_?"

Kimimaro looked at him as if he was crazy, his normally quiet demeanor completely changing. "N-No, Kiba. You're good-looking and really nice and you've always treated me well, but I've never been interested in you like that. I only ask because…Ukon says you're interested in Roach."

Kiba stared at him, his lips slowly parting. He coughed, putting a hand to his mouth. He stared at Kimimaro some more, a smile just barely playing at his lips. "…Is…Is that what you two have been calling Shino?"

The man next to him went pink, looking like he'd just revealed another big secret. "…Ukon named him that. I just…fell into the habit…"

Kiba chuckled for the first time in a long time, and Kimimaro looked at him, a smile making its way to his face yet again. The brunette's smile grew a little, and he looked down at his feet. "…That name is so fitting. D-Did you know he's actually a worm-farmer's son? His house is infested with roaches and he befriended them. I swear he probably names them or something."

Kimimaro's eyes rose. "No wonder you like him, then. He sounds a lot like Kidoumaru."

Kiba's face fell, and he rubbed at his head. "…Well…I liked him before I found out about the roaches. Now that I think about it, he _is_ like Kidoumaru… Of course…I doubt Shino names his roaches after characters in sitcoms…"

Kimimaro smirked. "They weren't always sitcoms. His tarantula's name is Dorothy. That's his line now when he goes into that one bar on Main Street. 'Want to meet my friend, Dorothy?' It's a riot. After the first few times people thought he was joking, until he admitted he was the one you got caught with."

Kiba's eyes widened, and he looked at the pale man beside him. "Wait…he…he's out of the closet? He told me he was just experimenting."

"He's had a crush on you ever since you beat up those guys that were stepping on his spiders, Kiba. I'm sure he just used the fact that you were drunk to get what he couldn't when you were sober out of you. And you, being the idiot you are, accepted him willingly."

"…Do you guys still hate Kidoumaru? I don't want you guys hating him. I _never_ wanted you guys to hate him. I always wanted you guys to accept him in the group. He was always alone; he needed a friend."

"…And…is Roach always alone?"

Kiba stared at him, looking back at the pond. Something tightened in his chest, and he heard himself emit a small squeak as he exhaled sharply. …Did he…Did he just like Shino because he reminded him of Kidoumaru? He turned back to Kimimaro, his face falling. His breathing quickened, and his friend frowned.

"…K-Kiba…?"

"…I'm not sure it's Shino I care about."

"Wh-What? How can you say that? Of course it is, Kiba. You shouldn't second guess yourself. That just leads to trouble."

"Fuck that, Kim. I'm serious. The first thing I noticed about Shino was how much of a dork he looked like. And he was a complete nerd, too. I actually didn't think anything of him until I found out he worked at my job. He was really nice to me and all, but he didn't get close to anyone. He was a complete loner, just like Kidoumaru. I think…I just like him because of that…"

Kimimaro stared at him. "…You don't mean that. You _can't_ mean that, Kiba. You like Roach because he's Roach."

"…No…I have to. That _has_ to be it. I wouldn't be attracted to a straight guy so much if he didn't remind me of someone else. I like Roach because he's Spiderman." He looked over at Kimimaro, his face paling.

The pale man sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "Kiba…I don't think that's the case. Your attraction to Roach can't be based on Spidernerd. The only things they have in common are bugs and social awkwardness. Sure, Kidoumaru _can_ be sweet, but he's nowhere near as good to you as Shino… Spidernerd never tried to comfort you after you came down here for your father's funeral."

Kiba bit his lip, tears pricking at his eyelashes. "Just think about it, Kim. Shino's _straight_. He's never going to go after me. Kidoumaru will; he already cares about me. If I were to get involved with Kidoumaru, he wouldn't make me cry. He practically worships me, Kim. And if I got involved with him, I could stay and live here in Mom's house and I could talk with you and Ukon every day. He's a _way_ better choice than Shino."

"…I…don't think so."

Kiba turned and looked at him, his face completely flabbergasted. "Wh-What do you mean by that? Kidoumaru is ten times better!"

"…Do you trust me?"

Kiba went silent, his mood settling back down to its mute self. "Of course I trust you."

"…You know I care so much about you and I'd miss you terribly if I never saw you again…but…that's the way it should be." He looked down at his hands anxiously, taking in a deep breath. "You can't keep living here, Kiba. It's…not healthy. You've got to move on…even if that means leaving me and Ukon and this house behind… Kidoumaru won't help you move on. Me and Ukon can both see the effect Shino has on you… It's a positive one. Ukon's a lot like you. He doesn't want to move forward, so he naturally doesn't want Shino around…but I do want to move forward and I want you to move forward, too. …Shino's the only one other than yourself who can help you do that."

"Shino is fucking _straight_. I don't care if he _does_ have a positive effect on me. It's all meaningless if I'm miserably lonely."

Kimimaro stood, sighing. "Kiba…you're acting like Spidernerd."

"What? How am I acting like him?"

"He wasn't nearly as helpless as he acted, and neither are you. You're doing the same thing with Roach that Spidernerd did with you when he thought you wouldn't return his affections."

Kiba stared at him, his face falling. "K-Kim…I…"

Kimimaro gave him a nod and a wave and took his leave, crossing the acre again and leaving through the door to the backyard. Kiba watched him go, his heart aching. Kimimaro was right. He was just being a stick in the mud because secretly he liked the attention Shino was giving him. It was absolutely pathetic but he couldn't help himself. There was no other way Shino would give him any kind of attention. If he got over it and started acting normal…Shino would stop trying to cheer him up…

His insides twisted, and he sighed. He couldn't take it. Now there was this whole business with Kidoumaru and he was so confused he had no idea what he felt anymore. Why couldn't he get a relationship that was easy like his parents? Why couldn't he just find someone off the street and _know_ they were the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with? And why couldn't they reciprocate his feelings just as fast?

He knew he wanted Shino. He knew that much. But _why_? If it was because he reminded him of Kidoumaru, then it was obvious who he really wanted.

He walked back up to the house and returned to his room, surprised to see his plan had worked. Shino had emptied all of his bottles. Well that…wait. Shino had been in his room? What if he'd found his porn? He would've known he was gay!!

He heard the toilet flush in the bathroom, and he grabbed one of the bottles off the ground, glaring. He needed to keep Shino from discovering anything. The door opened after some time and Shino walked out, scratching his head and looking quite embarrassed.

"Shino."

Shino turned and looked at Kiba, his face heating up. He started to stutter, like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Wh-Wh-What i-is it…K…Kiba…?"

Kiba shoved the bottle into Shino's hands. Trying to look angry–inside he felt pathetic.

"You tell me, _buddy_. You seem to have been making a habit of keeping me from drinking the entire time you've been here…"

Shino just stared at him stupidly, like he couldn't think of anything to say to that. He wasn't doing _anything_ at all. Inside, Kiba pouted. He knew it was childish, but he wanted Shino to scold him or something. Shino was completely silent, his face growing a bit more red when he looked down toward Kiba's feet.

Kiba sneered, upset that he wasn't being scolded. "Whatever. It…just…doesn't really matter. Just as long as you didn't go through my stuff. I need my privacy." His insides twisted, and he stared at Shino a bit longer than he wanted to. He was just so tired of all of this. "You know what? I don't even care about _that_ anymore. Go ahead. Look through my room. It's not like I'll care what you find in there anyway…"

He stepped back into his room, shutting the door behind him. The second he closed it, he sank to the floor, deep in thought. Who was it that he wanted? Shino looked awfully cute with that blush. But so had Kidoumaru way back when, hadn't he? Especially the awkwardness. That was definitely the same.

But Kidoumaru looked drastically different. His skin was much more tan than Shino's, and his hair was a lot more straighter. Actually…he'd thought Shino was sexy the other day because his hair was less frizzy. So…he liked Kidoumaru's hair, for sure.

Shino's eyes were nice, but so were Kidoumaru's. Kidoumaru wore glasses in high school, but he grew out of them by the time he'd come back from college. The nerd look was really cute, for some reason. Maybe he liked Shino's sunglasses because of Kidoumaru's nerd glasses?

So…Kidoumaru had a nice tan, nice eyes, great hair, glasses and cute awkwardness. Shino…had nice eyes, sunglasses…and cute awkwardness…

The only other thing different about them was the fact that Kidoumaru was relatively short. It was so weird. He wanted to protect Kidoumaru, but protecting Shino had never crossed his mind. It was always just…trying to figure out if he was gay or not. Sure…he felt the need to make sure that Shino was alright, but he hadn't actually felt the need to get into a fist fight to protect him. With Kidoumaru, he had.

He was so confused. Who did he fucking _want_?

He stood after a few hours of silent confusion and mental anguish, looking out the window. Shino was sitting against the shed, laughing. He watched him for the longest time, a smile slowly making its way to his face. Who was Shino talking to on the phone? He wished he could make Shino laugh like that.

His face paled, and he went stiff a little.

It was probably a girl. Possibly TenTen.

He stormed out of his room, into the master bedroom where his mother's bed was. He jumped on it, staring up at the ceiling. He desperately wanted to drink right now…but Shino had emptied out the last of Dad's liquor reserves. He groaned, closing his eyes.

"Mom…I really needed your help before…but now I just need even more of it. …Why the hell would you bring me down here just to make me more confused, you bastard? Just tell me why you wanted Mom to die… Hana has it so fucking easy. You're an asshole!" He chuckled bitterly, taking in a deep breath and trying to slow his breathing, which was sped up to the point that he knew he was about to cry.

"Why the hell am I even saying all of this shit? There's…There's nothing. There's just…nothing. No reason for Mom's death. I can't believe I'm still thinking about it. Nothing means anything, and you can't possibly be real."

Tears made their way to his eyes, and he bit his lip to hold them in as best as he could. He covered his face with his hands as the tears started rolling down his cheeks. He sucked in a breath, glad Hana and Juugo were busy doing whatever the hell it was they were doing.

"Why does it have to hurt this much? Why can't I just cry once and never have to do it again? Mom…just…do something wherever the hell you are, if you _are_ anywhere. Give me a sign. Something. Just…show me this big reason you seemed to believe in… Just…do something that'll make me see."

Nothing happened for a good twenty minutes and he finally clenched his fist.

"As I figured. There is no reason. I'm just…fumbling around in the dark, just like in that fucking dream…"

He cried for a few more minutes until finally he drifted off to sleep. Everything felt right in his dream, and he felt so calm and at peace. He wasn't confused about anything, and he knew exactly what that reason was that his mother believed in.

Someone nudged him, and he woke up, crashing right back to reality, that reason falling right out of his head before he could capture it to remember later. He wanted to forget so badly right now. He sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily and turning around on the bed. Shino was there, and he rubbed at his eyes some more.

"What is it, Shino? Is dinner ready yet? Tell Hana I'm not hungry…"

Shino yanked him off the bed, pointing to the dresser drawer his mother kept her– His heart practically stopped.

"Did you know about this, Kiba?"

Kiba sucked in a breath, swallowing a little and trying his hardest not to get upset about it. So many thoughts were racing through his head, Sakon and all of his taunting and teasing. It all came back to him in a rush, and his voice came out barely over a whisper. "…Yes. I knew about it…" He had to get out of there. He didn't know why, but he had to get out of here. Something was going to happen; he knew it.

He went to the door, but suddenly came to a stop after what Shino said next. His heart stopped again and his breathing quickened.

"…Does it run in the family?"

…What. Shino was teasing him. He was just like that bastard Sakon. Toying with him and everything. He was an asshole, a total douche bag. But…Shino… He barely knew anything about Shino. He'd only known him for four weeks. And Sasori had kept saying so many things about it having a chance to work out and…and…

The colour drained from his face as everything–_everything_–suddenly came back to him in a flash. He turned to look at Shino, face horrified. He remembered _everything_. Even when he'd grabbed Shino after that strip club plan and tried to make out with him. He was pretty sure Shino had shoved him on the bed and stormed out of the room. At least, that's what…he remembered weakly. It was barely a spark, but it was still there, sitting in his head. Just that sentence of knowledge but no clear memories to go along with it: He'd tried to make out with Shino, and Shino had pushed him off of him and stormed out of the room.

Shino knew he was gay. He _had_ to. He hated him now. That's why he was teasing him. Kiba had to resist the urge to shudder. What if Shino was just like Sakon? He was here…in a bedroom, and Shino was actually _holding_ that leash. He was…

"Wh-What does it matter to you, Shino? It's…It's not like _you're_ into that… …Are you?"

Shino started saying something about Karin as he put the leash away. Something about her being a psycho bitch that turned him off to bondage, and that was all he needed to hear in order to be relieved…but only over that little fact. That still didn't change the fact that Shino must've known he was gay.

He was going to lose Shino. And then he'd be all alone in this house with no one to comfort him but himself.

"I still have a stubborn bruise that's yellow…" The taller man said, closing the drawer. "Right on the collar bone. Karin is a total psycho."

Kiba's face tinged pink, and he looked away, trembling and nodding his head. "Y-Yes…she is. I'm glad I found out about it before I tried to ask her out." That was his last resort. He had to fake it somehow. Make Shino think he was just a really horny drunk.

He turned to leave, but Shino's words made him go red.

"Why are you even bothering to lie to me?"

Kiba turned, his face bright red, averting his eyes to the window. "…I'm not lying."

"Yes you are. You aren't attracted to women at all."

His defensives went up, and he made one last ditch effort to make Shino come to a different conclusion. He stormed over–"Wh-What!? I _am_! I _love_ p-pussy! And I can't get enough of t-t-tits!"–and shoved him.

Shino's arm grabbed his wrist as he toppled backward, and before he knew it, Kiba was staring straight up at Shino, pinned to the bed. The taller man's eyes were intense, and Kiba felt completely weak under his gaze. It wasn't the same kind of weak as with Sakon, but it was something he couldn't wrap his head around. It was like with that man he'd dated for a year in college…but completely different all at once.

He turned his head away timidly, trying to keep his thoughts tame. Shino just squeezed his shoulder roughly. Kiba winced, and Shino's voice was ice cold.

"You're not, you liar. I _saw_ the gay porn in your bedroom."

Kiba's face turned, his eyes immediately going to Shino's. He had to make sure… He had to see what his eyes said. He gulped. He was at Shino's mercy, now. He desperately wanted to put his hands in front of his face; he was so embarrassed, but there was nothing he could do about it–Shino had him _pinned_. "…Y-You did…?" He stared straight at Shino, seeing the hard look on his face, seeing something incredibly angry in Shino's eyes.

So. That was it. Shino was gone for good. He was all alone now. Kiba sniffed a little, feeling his heart crumbling to pieces. "…S-So… A-Are you leaving now? It's gross, right?"

The taller man chuckled, shaking his head. He paused for a moment before he cleared his throat. "So what if you like men…? You could do a lot worse, you know."

Now why the hell did this have to happen again? It was just like in his dream, just like what his father had told his mother before he'd died. His eyes misted over. Shino always knew exactly what to say, didn't he? He bit his lip. "…Sh-Shino… Please don't say that…"

"But you could. I'm not just saying that to make you feel better…"

"No…I mean…" He could feel tears welling up in his eyes: all Shino had been doing was making him cry. Why the hell did he want _that_? He had no idea why he wanted it, but for some reason it was like a drug. He just…wanted it. It reminded him of his Dad's tough love. "It's just…I just found out yesterday that that's what my Dad said about me right before he died… …So… …My Mom said that that was like him saying he loved me… So please don't say that…" He was lying. He wanted Shino to say that. He wanted Shino to just come right out all of a sudden and say he loved him. He wanted Shino to hold him again like in that dream, to close his mouth over his own and let him take full control over that kiss.

"But…you're my best friend." Shino closed his eyes, sighing and shaking his head a little. "…I'm not good at expressing myself, but your sister talked to me this…afternoon…and…well, I can admit that…I love you…" He chuckled. "…in a totally heterosexual way…of course…"

It was close enough for now. At least, Kiba would have keep telling himself that. Inside, he knew he couldn't stand it. Tears started flowing down his cheeks. It was probably really obvious he was disappointed over that, and Shino probably knew he liked him, but that didn't really matter to him anymore. It just hurt too much to hide it. "…Of…course. Because you're straight." He nodded his head, looking away and shutting his eyes.

His sister shouted something he couldn't hear, and Shino finally slid off the bed. He grabbed his hand, helping him sit up, but all he could do was grumble. It was hurting like a bitch now, now that Shino had said he loved him…but only in a heterosexual way. "Damn it, Shino, all you've done is made me cry ever since you got here… Stop being such a nuisance."

"You told me you were counting on me to get you to stop feeling so numb. I'm a terrible friend. The only way I can do that is to surprise you or make you cry."

Kiba sighed, calming down considerably. Shino was too good for him. He was way too understanding, way too calm, way too everything. He just…didn't see it, did he? Shino couldn't be a terrible friend if he tried…but, of course, that was all Shino ever would be, wasn't it? A friend. Nothing more. Kiba slid off the bed and shook his head. "You could do a lot worse, too, Shino… I…I hit the jackpot…remember?"

He turned to leave, but Shino grabbed his wrist, slamming him in the face with yet another comment that left him feeling horribly uncomfortable.

"If you could have sex with _any_ man, who would it be?"

He bit his lip.

Who? Who did he care most about? Kidoumaru or Shino? He looked at the hand gripping his wrist–Shino was straight; Kidoumaru wasn't; in the long run, Kidoumaru would give him what he desired and Shino wouldn't; that was about it–and looked away bitterly. Coughing to hide yet another sob, he grabbed his hand away from Shino. He was just tired of everything; tired of caring over whether or not Shino would ever feel the same about him. It was just… It hurt too much to continue thinking about it.

"Kidoumaru." He admitted, before heading out of the room as fast as he could.


	24. Confusion Sucks!

_Oh snap! The plot just thickens with this one. Yeah, in this story, Ukon and Sakon were conjoined at birth…by a chunk of flesh at their sides. Their mother always joked with her friends, saying she'd gotten "two for the price of one" and stuff like that. Um…obviously they're separated now, but the bond connecting them still runs deep. That's why Ukon has such a strong attachment to his brother and can't move on. Because it used to actually be a literal attachment…_

_I just started listening to Smashing Pumpkins recently, and I've found that the song "In My Body" just reminds me of the twins. Ha ha. So fitting. Oh, and "Drown" sorta fits the last two chapters. Like woah. "No matter where you are; I can still hear you drown; You've traveled very far; Just to see if I'll come around."_

_Since I'm on a Smashing Pumpkins kick, the song that best fits Kidoumaru in this fic is "Tatantula". Not just because of the spider thing. It actually fits. The lyrics, that is._

_Hrm…what else to say… Oh yes! One of my lovely reviewers, earthbender068, wrote me on how she imagines Sasori and Deidara still in their Akatsuki robes in this story, and I giggled and couldn't shake that from my head. It gave me a good idea. And then she wrote to me on how cute it would be for Deidara and Sasori to get a kid, because in Chapter 20 Deidara said he thought of Kiba as a kid. _

_Hence, they get into an argument in this story. (Not to mention you find out more about their relationship than I think anyone wants to know…) Sasori? A cup? _Really_? You really have it _that_ bad? _

_As for the whole sleeping positions thing, I've been interested in it ever since psychology in my senior year of high school. Sleep has always been something interesting to me, mainly because I'm an insomniac and can't sleep without the aid of pills. (Which is why I'm posting this chapter at 12 when I should be resting up for my big first day of school on Monday.) Yeah, as for Kiba, he'd probably be in the Log or Starfish position. (I actually take up the Freefall position, which is the one Shino has in this. Better for his tummy problems. Poor dear.) The only thing about the Freefall position is that it hints at a "gregarious and brash exterior, but inwardly nervous and sensitive to criticism". Which, Shino is anything but "gregarious". Can you imagine? I can't._

_(I almost never put in the last little section with Kiba doing that whole creepy "watching you while you sleep" bit. God damn, Kiba. You are the creepiest man ever. And you are not Shino's daddy, that's for sure. That's TenTen's husband, and you are not hers, damn it.)_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 24_

Ukon sighed, stretching his aching muscles. His back hurt _so_ bad, as it normally did. He'd spent most of the day bent over a hospital bed because all of the chairs were missing and the woman he'd struck up a friendship with hated him sitting on the bed. Why couldn't they all have been Kiba's mom?

Immediately after his stretch, he shoved his hand into his pocket for the cigarettes he kept around. He picked one of them out of the packet, shoving the rest back in his pocket, and stared at it wistfully. He sighed, shoving it between his lips.

He didn't light it up; instead he just held it there, reaffirming what was already in his mind.

He stared up at the stars, finally turning his eyes back at the street. Well, this was it. He had to go home to his empty apartment and try to scrounge around for something he could do to pay off his college tuition. Four years of being a nurse and he still hadn't paid it all off. This job sucked at the beginning, but it was what he'd wanted to do ever since Kiba had pulled Kimimaro out of the pond way back in middle school and the other boy had looked at him with so much relief. His insides twisted, and his lips pursed together over the cigarette, taking a step from his spot on the wall.

That look of relief–just the thought that they were so thankful for a savior–was why he wanted to get involved in medicine in the first place. And…now that he was a nurse…the one person he'd wanted to save more than anything had wound up being a lost cause.

He started walking, insides twisting again, and held the cigarette even more firmly in his mouth. An ambulance drove up, just barely missing him, and he stopped abruptly to watch it. It went to the side of the building where the emergency room entrance was, and his curiosity piqued.

He didn't know why, but every time he saw an ambulance pulling up, even after his shift was over, he couldn't help but go over and ask if anyone needed any help. So, he started off after it, curious as to what was going on. As he neared, he could see the paramedics getting out of the front, and a man jumping out of the back.

His footsteps quickened, until finally he was watching them wheel a gurney by him. There was a man on the gurney, his hair a mess of dirty blond greasy locks that were terribly unkempt. His face was pale, and there was white foam leaking out of his mouth. His eyes were barely open, his half-lidded eyes just barely looking at Ukon with a spark of life in them.

The cigarette fell out of Ukon's mouth, and he fisted the shirt of one of the men looking over a clip board for a brief moment. "What's wrong with him?"

"Overdose. Someone saw him on the street and we drove over and picked him up. His signs are very weak, but nothing we haven't seen before."

Ukon nodded his head, swallowing. "Let me help."

"Er…you're…just…"

"I'm a nurse. I work here."

"Well, we can't just let you do that. I mean…it would go against–"

He started for the door, and the man grabbed his arm. "Sir, you really can't–"

Ukon turned around and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him up close so their noses nearly touched. The clip board fell out of the man's hands, and he stared at the punk, his face terrified.

"You better let me help or I'll stick that pen of yours up your ass! That's my fucking _brother_ in there, damn it!!"

––––––––––––––––––

Morning came late for Kiba, as it did for Shino. As Shino stumbled into the living room with some food, Hana and Juugo were already getting their things ready for grocery shopping. Kiba came out of his room, turning down the hallway only to stare at them with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Hana…where are you going?"

Hana turned to him, her face falling. "You don't know? Uh…" She exchanged a look with Shino and sighed. She went over to Kiba, taking his hand in hers. "Kiba…Juugo's going to go grocery shopping and…Ukon scheduled an appointment for me at the hospital…"

Kiba stared at her for a long while before he nodded her head. "Alright." Hana, Juugo, and Shino all gave a collective sigh of relief, and Kiba crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes looking at her intently. "_Why?_"

"…Mom had ovarian cancer. It might run in the family…so…I'm going to need to get regular check-ups to make sure I'm fine. It's so that…if I _do_ wind up getting it…there's a better chance they'll catch it earlier than they caught it with Mom…so they can do more and hopefully get rid of it before…well…" Her hand shook a little, and Kiba squeezed it.

He nodded. "Tell me up-front next time. It affects me just as much as it affects you." He let go of her hand and stalked back into the kitchen. Hana watched him go and studied his body language carefully, sighing sadly.

"…This…won't end well…"

Shino looked at her. "What do you mean? That went well, right?"

Kiba poked his head out from around the corner, eyes glowering. "Hana…I'm going out for the rest of the day, alright? …I should be back before midnight… I'd let you know where, but you'd just get super worried and probably start walking around the house being a fragile bitch. "

Hana's hand clenched into a fist, and she looked at Juugo. "Juugo, let's…go. He's just throwing a tantrum right now." Juugo nodded, grabbing her hand and opening the door, and led her out. The door closed behind them, and Shino turned around to see Kiba just staring through the door, eyes still glowering.

Shino walked over. "Kiba."

The brunette turned his head to him, his eyes going numb again. "Yes."

"…Where are you going to be all day?"

"I'm not telling you. You'll just tell Hana and she'll get upset. It's for her own good."

Shino glared, turning the corner where Kiba was fleeing and grabbed his arm. He gripped it tightly, and Kiba turned to look at him with absolute hate filling his eyes. "Kiba," Shino muttered. "Don't do this. Hana's telling you everything now. Yesterday when I talked to her, she was about to just tell you they were going grocery shopping so you wouldn't have to know a thing."

Kiba ripped his arm away, crossing his arms over his chest and pursing his lips together. "I don't know what it is you think I'm doing, Shino. You're my best friend, and I don't want to upset you either. So…I won't tell you."

He stalked toward the kitchen, and Shino glared at him. "Kiba. You're being childish. Just tell _me _where you're going. I won't tell Hana. Just tell me so_ I_ know. If you don't, I'm going to be upset for the rest of the night and I probably won't get any sleep. At least if you tell me, I'll know where to find you if I get worried…"

His eyes glazed over, and Kiba looked back at the man behind him. "…I…was going to go to Kimimaro's house…and then later tonight I was going to go to a bar on Main Street…"

Shino bit his lip, stepping toward him and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Kiba, you don't need to drink to forget about anything anymore. I'm here for you, remember?"

The shorter man's temper flared up in a fury, and he smacked the taller man's hand away. "Don't you fucking touch me, Roach. I don't _want_ you to be here for me." He spun around, ready to leave, until Shino finally lost his cool and fisted that brown hair, yanking him backwards into his chest.

"_Don't_ take that tone with me, Kiba. I'm only trying to help you, damn it! And don't call me R–"

Kiba elbowed him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. He pushed himself away, whirling around and crashing his shoulders right into the man, sending Shino straight to the floor. "I said don't touch me!" He grabbed for his hair in pain, wincing terribly. Jesus, the man was even stronger than Sakon. He shuddered involuntarily. "R-R-Remember back when Suigetsu tried to punch me? I said I could handle myself, damn it! E-Even against _you_, Shino! The next time you even think about laying a finger on me I'm sending you through a window! Are we _clear_!?"

Shino sighed, putting a hand to his eyes instead of attempting to stand to his feet. "Ah, shit. Yes, we're clear. I'm sorry, Kiba. I…I got angry, and I wound up lashing out at you… I didn't mean to. Please…just… Please forgive me…"

Kiba sucked in a breath, his eyes misting over and a sob threatening to force its way to the surface. He bit his knuckles, turning around and grabbing his phone off the kitchen table as he stormed out of the door. He just…couldn't hold it against Shino as much as he knew he needed to. He couldn't stay angry at him.

Shino finally got to his feet, standing and going for his own cell phone, falling short as he tried to remember what Juugo had said if there was an emergency. Juugo didn't have a cell phone with him–he'd forgotten it back in the city… And…Hana was having a check-up. He stopped short, not even dialing the first number. There was no point in alerting the two. They would just worry, like Kiba had said…

––––––––––––––––––––

Hana walked out of the doctor's office, feeling a bit sore. She sighed, going to the desk and paying for the check-up. When she turned around for the exit, she saw Ukon in the arms of a much smaller woman with shaggy black hair. She watched them for a moment, surprised to see Ukon shaking.

She went over to him, leaning toward the side. She was surprised to see he was in tears. He opened his eyes suddenly, seeing her and throwing himself away from the woman. He scratched his face, taking a few deep breaths and forcing a smile onto his face.

"H-Hey, Hana! Is…uh…er… Did the check-up go well?" He forced a laugh. "Everything still works down there, I hope!"

Her face fell. "U-Ukon…what…what happened? Are you alright?"

He put a hand to his eyes, his body going rigid. "N-No." He started to shake again. "I… He…He came back…but…the drugs fucked him up pretty bad…"

Hana stared at him. "Are you talking about Sakon?"

He nodded his head, and the woman went over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Ukon looked down at her, his self-control slipping. He shoved her off of him, clenching his fists tightly, as if he desperately wanted to go on a rampage. He slammed his fist into the wall beside him, screaming. Everyone in the hospital turned to stare at him in horror and disgust at his shameless outburst.

The woman just watched them, not even protesting when Hana grabbed his arm, pulling him out of the waiting room, down to one of the halls in the hospital. "Ukon, calm down. Just tell me what's wrong."

He sucked in a breath, feeling weak all over again. "I…I can't…" He sunk to the floor, curling up. "It's too painful, Hana. I don't think I'll be able to get through this."

She sighed, her chest tightening. "Don't say that. You'll get through this just fine…"

"…Um…"

They both turned to see Sakon standing there, that dirty blond hair hanging in his face. He looked absolutely confused. Ukon swore, standing abruptly.

"What the hell are you doing out of your room, Sakon!? Please! Just go back in there!"

Sakon stared at him, his face completely blank. He rubbed the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. "…It's still weird hearing you call me that, Mr. Ukon…"

"It's _just_ Ukon! Stop being so informal! I'm your brother!" He grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him. "Why the hell can't you see that!? I'm your fucking brother! Remember me, damn it!!"

Sakon stared back at his brother, his lip trembling. His eyebrows furrowed together, and he shook his head. "…I'm sorry… Please don't get upset. It's painful for me, too…Ukon." Ukon stared at him, hoping to catch a glimpse of recognition in those eyes of his brother's, but was met with that same confusion.

Ukon pushed him into another nurse, glaring daggers at them. "Take him back to his room. I'll deal with him later!"

Hana's heart started to ache, trying to think of anything as painful as seeing someone she loved unable to even remember who she was. She put a hand over her mouth, staring at the man slowly starting to crumble in front of her. He leaned his head against the wall, pounding his fist into the wall again.

He screamed, and Hana walked over, placing a hand on his back. "Ukon…everything is going to be fine."

He shut his eyes, feeling tears starting to form again. "It's…It's not going to be alright, Hana. He doesn't remember me, and the drugs fucked him up so bad I don't think he ever will…"

She frowned, pulling him into a hug. "But he knows it hurts to see you hurting. The bond between you is still there. Even if he doesn't remember you, both of you are back together again. You can always make new memories with him."

He wiped at his eyes, melting into the hug and coughing out a laugh. He smiled into her hair, his chest warming up again. "…I'm sorry you had to see me like this, Hana. Your mother was the only other one who saw me get like this emotional over my brother. D-Don't tell Kiba about any of this, alright?"

She smiled. "It'll be our secret."

He nodded his head, letting go of her and pushing her shoulders away from him. He looked down, biting his lip. "You can leave now. I've got another girl who's willing to hold me. Just…get back to your fiancée…" She turned to leave, and he stalked back to his brother's room.

The second he was in there, he shut the door behind him. Sakon looked up at him from the bed. "Who was that girl?"

"Hana Inuzuka. Inuzuka. That name ring a bell to you?"

Sakon stared at him for a brief moment before his eyes glazed over. "…Inuzuka… It sounds…like something I should remember…" Sakon just stared at him, his eyes snapping back to reality. "It's weird. The first thing that came to mind when I said that was a leash."

"…Sakon."

"Yes, Mr– I mean…er…Ukon…"

"What comes to mind when you say your name?"

"…Sakon?"

"Yes."

"…Music. Like…er…drums…"

Ukon's eyebrows knitted together, and he stared at his brother, sucking in a breath. "…And what about my name? Ukon. What comes to mind when you say that?"

His brother smiled, eyes twinkling, though he didn't know why. "Ukon? …Just…smells."

His brother made a face. "S-Smells?"

"Weed."

Ukon's bottom lip trembled and he wiped at his eyes as tears started to fall. He laughed weakly. "…Yeah… Both of us liked smoking weed, bro." He walked over, taking a spot on the bed. "You…you didn't believe me when I forced you to look in a mirror, but…but I have something else that might prove to you I'm your brother." He removed his shirt, fingers grazing over a small scar on his right side.

Sakon stared at it for the longest time, before he pulled at his hospital gown and looked at a scar on his left side. A smile made its way to his face. "You mean we were fucking conjoined? That's…that's fucking wild!"

Ukon grabbed his brother in a hug, kissing his eyebrow and holding him tight. He wiped at his eyes, laughing again. "Shit! You're starting to sound like yourself again, bro… Kiba's sister was right." His grip tightened when Sakon hugged him back. He buried his head in his brother's shoulder, the tears starting to flow freely. "Everything's going to be fine. Even if you don't remember me."

Sakon tensed. "W-Who?"

"…What? _Kiba_? He's not important, Sakon. Just…Just ignore it."

"If it's not important, then why the hell am I thinking about some freak writhing around on a bed and getting a hard-on?"

Ukon pulled back, standing up straight. "Wait…just…wait… You…You remember Kiba vividly? I…" He stared down at the ground. "…I'm going to make this right, Sakon. You'll remember everything in no time. Just…Just promise me you won't check out of the hospital, and I'll go and make things right."

Sakon stood, eyes widening. "Wait, what are you going to do?"

Ukon headed for the door, slipping his shirt on. He took a deep breath, his voice growing cold. "It doesn't matter. Just know I'm going to make things right." He stepped out and Sakon ran to the door, calling after him through the halls.

"Ukon! I'll kick your ass if you–!!" He drew back to his room, staring out toward the window. If he…what? What…did he not want Ukon to do? Hurt anyone? Just…

He frowned. "Kiba." The name danced off his tongue and a swarm of sensations flashed through his brain. A smile slowly made its way to his face, and though he had no idea who any of these people were or, hell, even who _he_ was, he knew he's most likely enjoy whatever Ukon's plans for gaining his memories back were immensely.

–––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba sighed, walking down the street to Kimimaro's house. As he did, Akamaru was walking by his side happily. The man picked up his phone, flipping through the numbers. He found the name in his address book he wanted and clicked on it, dialing. The phone picked up after the second ring, and a very tired man answered the phone.

"Uhhhnnn…I dern wanna guta shooool, yeah…"

Kiba bit his lip, sighing. The second that sigh left his lips and he said, "Deidara", there was a crash from the phone. Instantly, he heard a rather startled, far off voice shouting, "G-G-Get out of here, yeah! No, I don't want to continue this relationship; I don't even know your name! Get out of here, hmmm!"

There were a few more shoutings, some consisting of, "Hey! Be careful over there, yeah! It's not done firing! You'll destroy it before I make it art, dumbass!" and others like, "No, I'm not interested in _your_ art, you uncreative hack! Get out of here before I get my man down here to beat your ass, yeah! He's on the phone with me right now!"

There was a far away slam and then suddenly Deidara's voice rang out nice and clear over the line. "Kiba, yeah! How is everything!? Some woman on your phone said something about a funeral on Sunday! I have to say, I was _very_ worried, yeah!"

Kiba felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips. He'd really wanted to his hear the man's voice again. Deidara always knew how to make him smile, and he was so willing to help him with his problems. "Hey, Dei…"

"Hay Day? What the heck are you talking about, yeah?"

"You're still half-asleep."

"I…may be, yes. Yeah."

"Dei…I'm…" He struggled for those words, staring at the dog walking next to him and staring at him with daggers for eyes. Even he could see how attached Akamaru had grown to Shino over the past few days. He knew the dog didn't want him to give up at all. Akamaru wanted Shino to be around him more often. Kiba turned his eyes back to the street as he continued the walk, his eyes closing for a moment as he finally got it out there in the open. "…I'm giving up on Shino. He's a lost cause."

For a moment there was some silence on the phone, until suddenly Deidara burst out laughing. "Hee hee! Ha ha ha, K-K-Kiba, you pathetic little ass, yeah! Pfffft! You can't just _give up_ on him!"

"…He knows I'm gay now. And…he's not attracted to me."

Deidara's voice lowered, and there anger heavy in his voice. "So did Sasori, and you want to know how long _I_ suffered until I finally got my reward? A year and a half, yeah! So don't just _give up_ like that, Kiba! Four or five weeks is _small_ compared to what I went through! Even after he finally realized he was in love with me, it still took me nearly another year before he would even _think_ about sex, yeah! You think you're suffering _now_?? Just wait until Shino admits his feelings for you and still refuses to have sex with you, yeah! We'll see how much you're suffering then!"

"…What?"

"You heard me, Kiba! I went nearly an entire year knowing the man who loved me didn't even want to touch me no matter how much I begged! He _still_ goes months or even years refusing to, yeah!"

Kiba sighed. "Then…it's not worth it…"

"Like hell it isn't, yeah! You can't just give up so easily, Kiba! If you really loved him you would stick with it and wait!"

"But…I'm not even sure it's him I cared about to begin with. He…He acts a lot like the man I was with when my father found me and kicked me out of the house…"

"…Then fuck the man you were with and make sure if it's him or not, yeah."

"Wh-What?" Kiba's face went red. "I…I can't just…"

"Why not, hmmm?"

"…Because Shino's–" He froze in his tracks, and he could practically hear Deidara's smile over the phone. He shook his head. "Look, I want Shino, but Kidoumaru is a much better choice. I'm pretty sure it's Kidoumaru who I see in Shino… He actually _wants_ me."

"Then it's time to make _Shino_ want you, yeah. Where are you? Is Shino there, hmmm?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"It's time to make him jealous. See how he reacts, yeah. Make sure he sees you making out with someone else. This…Kidoumaru seems to be the perfect vict–I mean, _helper_ for you, Kiba, yeah."

Kiba looked up at the sky, turning around in a quick circle to check his surroundings to make sure he hadn't gotten off track. "I…I couldn't do that to Kidoumaru. I actually _like_ him, and he likes me. It would be cruel to him, Dei…" He started to walk again.

"Who do you want more? Shino or Kidoumaru, yeah? Let _that_ decide…"

He cursed. "Fuck! I don't _know_ anymore! You never had this problem, Deidara!"

Deidara snorted. "I'll have you know that after Sasori told me he loved me and refused to touch me, I _did_ find love in another man, yeah. It lasted three months, and the entire time I felt _so_ guilty because I didn't know who I was in love with anymore, yeah. It's not that bad, Kiba. You know how I remedied that, hmmm?"

"How?"

"I fucked Sasori's brains out one day and made sure of who I wanted most."

"You want me to _rape_ Shino? What the _fuck_, Deidara?? You…You even _raped_ Sasori!? Why the hell is he still with you!?"

"He only protested the first ten seconds before I dumped him onto a bed and started teasing his cock, yeah. After that I couldn't get him to stop shouting yes." Kiba could hear the smirk in Deidara's voice, and his stomach bottomed out and he started to feel sick.

"That's…_wrong_… He was still _protesting_ at first…"

"Does it matter, hmmm? Not only did I reaffirm who it was I loved, but I made sure to keep the relationship strong. Me and Sasori look back on that day and laugh, yeah!" There was a brief moment of silence before Kiba heard a much quieter voice over the phone.

"Are you kidding me, Dei? I _still_ have nightmares. You wonder _why_ I make sure to give you want you want at least once a year? It's because I know how scary you get when you're deprived of my love for too long…"

"Sasori! Didn't I tell you to knock first, yeah!?"

"You don't. Why should I?"

Kiba hung up the phone, feeling no better than he did before. Sheesh, how could he ever have thought those two could help him? I mean…before he'd been so sure…but that was before Deidara told him he'd _raped_ Sasori. What the hell was _wrong_ with those two!? It was worse than Sakon! At least Sakon didn't _rape_ him!

After a few minutes, the phone rang again, and he answered it. It was Sasori this time. The man sighed over the phone. "Please ignore Dei. Yeah, he sort of pushed himself on me. Sure, I said all of that, but I was unaware of who was on the other line with him… It wasn't anything like that, Kiba. I'd actually been too afraid to make a move and was waiting for him to make the first move. So. It was shocking at first and I was embarrassed, which was why I said no. Inside, I really wanted it. Kind of."

Kiba stared at the dog to his left. "…Sasori…you used to think you were straight. I need you to help me. Did…Did Deidara ever get drunk and try to make out with you before you thought you were gay?"

"…Um…pretty much _every_ time he got drunk. But I assumed he was a horny drunk, so…I didn't think anything of it… See…because you had to go and fall in love with a man like you described, it's going to be difficult for you at the beginning. …I haven't met Shino, so I couldn't really say if you have a chance or not, but…if he's anything like _me_, persistence and patience is what it's going to take…"

"But…what if I like him because he reminds me of someone else? See, there's this guy Kidoumaru that is a lot like Shino, and he was the first guy I got involved with and didn't remember anything about. All I knew was that I liked him. Our relationship was a drunken fling, so I don't remember it at all… Wh-What if I like Shino because he was like Kidoumaru and–"

"Now's not the time to be second guessing yourself. If you're really as confused as you think you are…well…you don't remember what it was like with Kidoumaru. I say try to find some closure with that and get all of that out of your system. Just remember–Shino isn't going to be exactly like Kidoumaru. There has to be _something_ about him that you like that doesn't relate to Kidoumaru in any way. If you can't find that…then maybe it really was because you saw Kidoumaru in him. And if you _can_, then I think it's safe to say it wasn't _just_ that you saw Kidoumaru in him. It just means that's your preference in guys…"

"Like…a fetish?"

"Er…yeah. Sort of like that. Kind of. Not really. Just what you look for in men."

Over the phone, Deidara's voice was overly-jubilant. "Oh, Sasori! See?? You'd make a wonderful father! Just listen to how you're talking to Kiba, yeah!"

Sasori grumbled. "Don't even start, Dei."

"Oh, but wouldn't it be wonderful, yeah!"

"I already told you, there's no way we're getting a kid. We live in two separate studios and you've got all of those parties…hell, you don't even wear that ring I gave you. Jesus, that bastard Kankurou's working my ass into the ground right now so I've got enough on my plate as it is! You mention kids one more time I'm throwing the ring you gave me out the window!"

"But just think about it, yeah! We could get matching _bath robes_! And towels, _yeah_! A blue one that says 'His' on it for me, and a pink one that says 'His' on it for _you_, yeah! And then a pastel purple one for our kid that says, 'Little One' on it! It'd be so beautiful!"

"Why would I get _pink_? Don't you know how badly that would clash with my hair?"

"See! That's why you'd get _pink_! You're the woman, yeah! You know which colours look good together and–"

"That's because I went to art school." Sasori's voice clearly said that his patience with the blond was wearing thin. "I know what colours clash. You _know_ how anal I am about everything being all perfect and neat-looking, Dei…"

Deidara's voice dipped seductively, and his voice suddenly became ten times louder, like he'd come closer to the phone. "I _do_ know how _anal_ you are, yeah…"

Sasori groaned, returning to the phone again. "I'm terribly sorry you have to hear all of this, Kiba. Just– Will you _stop_ touching me there, Deidara? I've got work I've got to be doing. I only came in here to ask to borrow a hammer. Mine's gone missing. I think that little runt Tobi came over and stole it."

A pouting voice reached Kiba's ears. "Oh…I thought for sure it'd work this time."

"I wear a cup every time I come over here, Deidara. Your fondling doesn't penetrate plastic." He returned to the phone once more. "Don't give up on Shino, Kiba. And now's not the time to be second-guessing yourself. Good-bye." The phone hung up, but not before Kiba heard a strangled, "Stop unzipping my jeans!" and a seductive, "No, yeah…"

Kiba pulled the phone away from his ears, staring at it. Finally, Akamaru barked, and the man looked back at him. "…I don't get them either. But…I like Sasori. He gives good advice and is very calm under pressure. That's a very nice quality to have, don't you think…?"

Akamaru barked again, and Kiba sighed. "I doubt that's why I like Shino. Sure, he's also calm under pressure, but he doesn't handle it well. After all, he had an ulcer because he bottled everything up inside and wouldn't concentrate on anything other than work."

The dog barked again, and Kiba sighed. "…Wouldn't it be nice to be you, Akamaru? Mom and Dad got you neutered the second they realized they didn't want you breeding into their purebreds." Akamaru bit his leg and Kiba growled. "Alright! I'm sorry! I won't bring it up again! You're so sensitive!"

–––––––––––––––––––––––

There was a knock on the door and Shino answered it. He groaned at the sight of Ukon standing at the door, looking anxious. He was still wearing a pair of scrubs–an ugly faded orange. Shino stared at him, and Ukon looked around him, trying to see into the house.

"Roach, is Kiba in there?"

"Call me Roach and you won't get an answer."

"Shino. _Shino_, alright? Shino, I need to know if Kiba is in there. See, my brother…my brother's back and he lost all his memories, but he remembers Kiba a bit more vividly than anything else, and I need Kiba's help…"

Shino appraised him for a while, before he bit his lip. "It's just me here. Kiba went off somewhere. You can come in and wait for him if you like."

Ukon stepped in, immediately going into the master bedroom. Shino watched him, completely stunned. After much fumbling around, the man walked out with that leash in his hands. He stared at the leash, making sure it was the same one his brother had described to him all those years ago, and then headed for the front door again. "Thanks, Shino. I just need to know where Kiba is and I can bring him back to the hospital with me."

Shino's eyes narrowed. "He didn't tell me where he was going. …What are you doing with that?"

"See, Sakon remembered it, and when we were kids he bragged about how he got Kiba to bark like a dog, and I figured if he could do that to Kiba again, he could probably remember s–"

The leash was wrenched from his hands, and Shino took a step toward him, towering over him menacingly. "Like hell he will. Get the fuck out of here."

Ukon looked up at Shino, completely surprised to see his eyes were so narrow they were practically slits. He ignored that look that clearly told him trouble would follow if he continued–he'd never been one to listen to that little voice in his head–, reaching for the leash. "Sh-Shino! I really need this! My brother can't even remember my face! I'll do anything!"

Shino stared at the leash, keeping his grip on it firm. "Kiba's terrified of this. _Why_? Does it have _anything_ to do with your brother?"

Ukon gave him a long look, before he swallowed and nodded his head pitifully. "N… Y-Yes….Sakon fucked him over pretty bad. I'm pretty sure Kiba has scars."

"Then your brother can _keep_ his amnesia. He's not taking a single step near Kiba. Now get the fuck out of this house."

The shorter man grabbed the collar of his shirt. "P-Please! Sakon needs Kiba in order to remember everything!"

Shino shoved him out the door. "And Kiba needs to forget about your brother in order to get over his attachment to this town!" He slammed the door behind him, leaning against until Ukon had finally given up shouting and left. He stared at the leash in his hands, his hands starting to shake.

He threw it into the hall closet, making sure to hide it under a bunch of boxes, and went to go clean the master bedroom up again. He finally took a place on the bed, staring at the spot Kiba's head had been the other day. His heart sank, and he groaned, putting his face in his hands. "That…wasn't just me looking out for Kiba, was it? I shouldn't have felt so jealous if that were the case…"

He sighed and looked up, spotting a photo album on the top of the dresser. He stood and grabbed it, going and taking his place on the bed. He looked through it, seeing a few familiar faces. There was a younger version of Kimimaro, and there was a younger version of Kiba–he was really cute as a kid, wasn't he?—and there was… He stared at the two twins, instantly picking out the one that was Ukon and which was Sakon. Sakon was the one glaring daggers at Kiba as he stole the spotlight, Ukon was the one jumping into the frame at the last minute, like he had no idea there was a camera around until it was nearly too late.

How the hell had Kiba never noticed this asshole Sakon hated all the attention he was getting?

He tossed the photo album back onto the ground, staring up at the ceiling.

What the hell kind of taste did Kiba even _have_? When was he going to find someone _right_ for him, anyway? Shino stared at his hands, feeling something shake through his chest, down to his very toes.

That was one down…one more to go. Why did he want to stop this whole Kidoumaru crush Kiba had anyway?

–––––––––––––––––––

Kiba didn't go to Kimimaro's house. Instead, he just sat in the park all day and stared at the clouds. He didn't know why, but it was so relaxing. Finally, a couple of hours after the sun set, he set out for the bar on Main Street. Once there, he immediately spotted his target and made his way over toward him, completely forgetting about Akamaru.

He took a spot at the bar, ordering a beer. He glanced over at the man, reaching over a little. "Long time no see."

Kidoumaru turned his head, his jaw dropping. "K-Kiba??" A smile soon took the place of his shock, and he grabbed Kiba by the shoulders. "Kiba! I heard you'd come back to town, but I didn't think you'd seek _me_ out! I was actually going to go over to your house and see if you wanted to talk tomorrow, but this is great! What are you doing here??"

A smile warmed Kiba's face, and he leaned over, whispering into his ear. "I needed you, Kidoumaru. I just can't get your friendship with bugs out of my mind…"

Kidoumaru's face flushed. "S-Spiders aren't _bugs_. They're arachnids. And do you need me before or _after_ you've gotten smashed?" He stared at the slightly shorter man, something like hope swirling in his eyes.

"Somewhere in-between." A mug of beer was sloshed in front of him, and Kiba downed the entire thing, staring straight into the other man's eyes, not even hiding the attraction and lust in them. The look was mutual.

–––––––––––––––––––

Shino stared at Ukon in front of him, across the table, glaring daggers at him. After Hana and Juugo had picked him up off the street on the way home from the grocery store, the woman had demanded that he be let into the house. She was completely unaware of Sakon's previous history with Kiba, and Ukon had made an effort to keep it that way. He knew Hana could convince Shino to leave him alone so he could convince Kiba to go back to the hospital with him; it was all a matter of waiting until he came back.

Hana was sitting beside Juugo, next to Shino, worry etched on her face. "Where is Kiba? He said he'd be home by midnight… It's nearly midnight now…"

There was a loud bark, and they all turned their heads toward the front door. Shino immediately scrambled for the door, throwing it open. His jaw dropped. There was Akamaru…but where was Kiba?

He let the dog in; Hana walked out, the anger on her face soon replaced by shock when she realized what Shino had just moments before. Her face paled. "Where is Kiba?"

Shino shook his head, and Hana put her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God… Wh-What if…"

Juugo stepped out, grabbing her elbow lightly. "Hana, I'm sure he's fine." Akamaru barked, grabbing his leash from the wall in the kitchen and dashing back, holding it out to Shino.

Shino stared at the dog, grabbing the leash. "Why didn't you tell me you knew where he was when you came in!?" The dog growled at him and he hooked the leash on Akamaru's collar, opening the door again. "Yeah, yeah. I'm still learning how to understand you, alright?" As Akamaru pressed himself out, Shino managed to get, "I'm going to go find him, Hana!" before he was dragged out the door.

They dashed through the town at night, and Shino nearly tripped about four times, had Akamaru not barked right before he hit a curb with his foot. About a block from Main Street, he managed to get Akamaru to slow down somewhat. Before he did anything, though, he crouched down, looking the dog in the eyes.

"Hey, you listen to Kiba, and I'm doing this to help Kiba. I have a feeling I know what he's doing, so you just keep your jaws shut, alright? No matter how much you want to bark, keep quiet. We're going to sneak up on him and grab him from behind. That's the only way to get him home. Alright?"

Akamaru tilted his head, looking at Shino strangely. He muttered a woof, and Shino patted him on the head. "Good." When the dog barked again, a bit more forcefully and tilting his head even more, Shino sighed. "Why? Because he's probably going to be drunk, and the last time he was drunk around me, he tried to make out with me because he's extremely horny when drunk like that. Got it? I want to avoid that."

Akamaru let out a bark and shook his head sadly, turning around and pushing onward. Shino just rolled his eyes. "No, I am _not_ just saying that to make you think otherwise…"

Akamaru headed straight into an alley, and Shino turned the corner only to fade back into it in a hurry. Kiba was standing almost right there, back to the alley, talking with a rather good-looking man. The man had dark hair and deep eyes, tan skin, sort of tall, but not too tall. His hair was slicked back and did some weird flip in the front, where there was a cowlick. He was well-dressed, wearing a tight white shirt and plain black pants.

'_Tch,'_ Shino couldn't help but think while staring at him. _'Damn handsome guy… He's…ten times better-looking than me.'_

Kiba leaned over, annunciating every syllable in his sentence. "Kidoumaru, I want to make a woman out of you."

Kidoumaru sighed lightly, grabbing his shoulders. "…You're as drunk as you were when we first got together, Kiba. You said you wanted to _remember_ it this time… I'm going to be sorely disappointed in the morning." There was something wrong with the way he sounded, Shino could feel it. He sounded so…confident. Like he _knew_ he'd bed Kiba that night.

Kiba leaned into the man, rubbing up against him. "Kidoumaru, there's nothing I want more to fuck you. If you want, you can fuck me in the morning after I wake up with a hang-over, too. I'll _definitely_ remember that…"

Kidoumaru laughed. "Kiba…" His voice was soft. "I think it'd be best if I fucked you in the morning _only_. I'm a gentleman…"

"Kidoumaru, Kidoumaru, I can't just do that… I have to fuck you _now_ before Roach finds I'm gone and comes looking for me. He's a fucking asshole, that man. I have to get out of that house, Kidoumaru! He's hurting me!"

Kidoumaru wrapped his arms around him. "What kind of an ass would hurt you, Kiba? Sheesh, that man sounds like Sakon…"

Kiba leaned over, his voice positively serious. "It's _worse_ than that!"

Shino finally had had enough of Kiba bad-mouthing him, and he stepped out of the alley. "Kiba."

Both men turned instantly, and Kiba went rigid. "Sh-Shino… You…You came to look for me?"

"Yes. We were all waiting up to see when you'd be in, and Akamaru came home alone so I was sent out as a search party. Come on. Let's go home."

Kiba's eyes glazed over. "…Go home with you? Shino…any place with you in it can't _possibly_ be a home. You just…fuck up everything you come in contact with."

The man behind him wrapped his arms around Kiba's waist, pulling him closer. He wasn't as tall as Shino, but he was slightly taller than Kiba. He put his face on Kiba's shoulder, staring at Shino reproachfully. "This the man that hurt you, Kiba?"

Shino groaned, putting a hand on his forehead. "I haven't hurt anyone, alright?"

Kiba pointed his finger at him, glaring. "You did. You grabbed my hair and pulled me around. All you've done since you got here has been hurting me. Get the hell out of this town. I'm staying here. Wh-Why can't you see that?"

Shino's eyes narrowed. "…You don't mean that, Kiba. That's the alcohol talking. You'll like it better in the city. Trust me. Just…come back to the city with me. With your sister. With Juugo. Shikamaru and Chouji and TenTen and everyone else are waiting for you to come back… Please." A sharp pain shot through his belly, and he put a hand to his stomach, wincing. Shit. He'd forgotten to take the medication he'd gotten. And the pain killers wore off an hour ago.

Kidoumaru smiled, his eyes appraising him with the most condescending look Shino'd ever received. "Got a tummy ache, big guy?"

Shino winced again, pointing right at him. "You aren't going to lay a finger on Kiba. I can tell just by looking at you that you're bad news."

Kiba stared at Shino, watching him closely. He frowned, sobering instantly, and slowly turned around and planted a kiss on Kidoumaru's neck. Kidoumaru shrugged passively, a grin taking over his face. "As you can see, I'm not the one laying a finger on him. He's been fingering me all night. Sorry, dude."

Another jolt of pain shot through Shino's stomach and he put another hand to his side, actually letting out a swear. He started to sweat, looking down at the ground and glaring. "Look, Kiba…just…we're all waiting for you back home." Another jolt of pain seared through his stomach, and he turned around, biting his fist to hold back a cry of pain. He took a deep breath, looking up at the night sky. He sighed, going and grabbing the dog in the alleyway.

"Never mind… Just…d-don't do anything stupid." He stomped his foot on the ground as another searing pain shot through him, and he stormed off down the street, leash in hand, Akamaru following him. "Hana's going to _kill_ me long before this damn ulcer does…"

Kiba watched him, concern etched into his face. "W-Wait… Shino. Hey, are you alright?" Shino just raised a hand in the air, nodding his head a little, still walking off down the street. Kiba turned back to Kidoumaru. "Um…come see me tomorrow. We can…We can continue this then…" He started to walk off, but Kidoumaru grabbed his hand.

"Hey. What is that guy to you?"

Kiba looked back to see Kidoumaru staring at him, a slightly perturbed look on his face. The dog-lover bit his lip, looking back at Shino for a long, long time before he turned back to Kidoumaru, his face twisting into a half-depressed, half-confused look.

"…My best friend…and n-nothing more, alright?"

Kidoumaru nodded his head, releasing his hand and walking backwards, back toward the bar. "…I'm coming over tomorrow around noon. Next time when I ask you that question, I'd prefer you didn't sound so unsure."

Kiba watched him leave, and by the time he turned back to follow Shino and Akamaru, they were both out of view. He swore lightly, starting up at a brisk pace to catch up with them.

––––––––––––––––––––

The pain was nearly unbearable and he finally found himself pressing himself against the glass of the front door, letting Akamaru bark to signal they were home. Hana came to the door, looking worried as all hell. She stared at the pair, her face falling. She went to the door, opening it and letting Akamaru dash in. She stared at Shino, worry and concern on her face clear as day.

Shino winced a little, shaking his head. "I'm sorry…he's…going to be out with a man tonight."

She grabbed him, helping him inside and plopping him on the couch. She frowned. "Shino, you look absolutely _terrible_! You're sheet white and…" Finally within the confines of someplace safe, he let out a weak grunt of pain, clenching his fists and grabbing at his stomach.

"Shit! Just give me my pills."

Recognition crossed her face and she turned to go to the kitchen, only to find Ukon holding out a glass of water and the pills toward her. She took them, immediately giving them to him. He downed the glass, tossing the pills–one for the ulcer and the other for the pain–into his mouth and swallowing them. He sighed, laying his head against the wall and closing his eyes, looking absolutely miserable.

Hana frowned, sitting over next to him and grabbing his hand. "Shino, don't you worry about Kiba. He may do stupid things, but…when it–" She stopped. "Wait, does…does Kiba know you know he's gay now?"

Shino nodded his head. "Yeah. I told him I knew last night."

Her face fell, certain if the news of that blind date was out in the open, Kiba would be twice as bitter. "So he also knows about the da–"

There was a knock on the door and she stood in an instant, flying to it. She swung it open to see Kiba there, looking extremely conflicted. He rubbed the back of his head, bouncing on his heels and staring at the ground. "Kiba!" She opened the glass door and pulled him in, seizing him in a hug. "Oh my God!? Why did you come back!? Shino said–"

"How is he?"

He turned to look at Shino, turning his eyes to the dog sitting at the man's feet. He went to that one instead, grabbing the dog's ears, rubbing them furiously. "How are you, Akamaru!? You're okay, right?"

Akamaru barked happily, and Kiba looked up at Shino for a brief second before turning his eyes back to the dog. He looked into the dog's eyes, rubbing his head softly. "You in any pain, boy?" Akamaru barked, and he nodded his head, still on the ground.

Shino situated himself on the couch, finally laying his head on the arm, right next to Akamaru's head. He stared straight at Kiba, eyes narrow and bitter, and let out a half-hearted 'woof'. Kiba turned to him, his cheeks going pink slightly, knowing Shino had known who he'd been worried about all along. He nodded his head, his face crumbling.

"That's…That's good to hear. I'm sorry…buddy. I…just… I was angry because you were yelling at me earlier today… I was being childish. I won't let it happen again."

Shino turned back up to stare at the ceiling before closing his eyes. "I doubt it, but I'll live with that…for now." The brunette hung his head again, slightly upset that he hadn't forgiven him for that outburst. Then again, neither had he for Shino's outburst that morning, had he?

Ukon looked at Kiba, sucking in a breath. "K-Kiba…Sakon's back."

The man stiffened visibly, his hands clenching Akamaru's fur tighter. He looked up at Ukon, horror clearly on his face. "…Wh-What…"

"He… Well…the drugs fucked him up bad and he can't remember anything. He…has amnesia. When he says your name…he starts to remember things…so…I thought…" He bit his lip, closing his eyes and hanging his head. This was pointless. Kiba would never comply.

"Sure. B-Bring him over here tomorrow."

Hana had left the room, going back to Juugo in the kitchen. That just left Ukon and Shino staring at him. He was trembling, staring at Akamaru intently, trying to be strong.

"We…W-We can take him out back to the pond and toss him in. That might spark some memories of Kimimaro. Or take him back behind that general store and grab a joint for him so he can remember you. Then when all that's over we can take him back to the table out back and bash his head into the wood a few times until he remembers me." He looked back up at Ukon, his face no longer frightened, only bitter. "…Me and Hana will be very hospitable to that bastard."

Ukon's eyes narrowed. "K-Kiba…the leash. I…I tried to get it this morning but Shino grabbed it from me and hid it somewhere and I can't find it. If I find that leash, I'll just show it to Sakon and he might remember something. Please… I… What would you do if it was _Hana_ that couldn't remember you?"

Kiba stared at Akamaru, his heart aching. He looked down at the ground. "I…I don't know… What will I do if I see him? I just…I'm afraid I might panic and do something stupid… And…that leash _was_ my mother's…"

"I just need that leash."

"Like hell you do. What the hell are you going to do if his memories come back and he's got that thing? Screw that. Just take him around town and remind him of things you used to do together. That'll have a far more agreeable result in the end."

Both men turned to Shino, completely stunned. Ukon's jaw dropped, and a look of relief spread over Kiba's face. He finally nodded. "Yes…what Shino said. Ukon…I'd give anything to forget about Sakon. I consider him lucky. If you want to help him to remember anything, help him remember the good times…" He looked up at Ukon, his face resolute.

Ukon shook for a moment, clenching his fists, before he nodded and went for the door. "I'm sorry I asked then… I just…I thought it would be quicker if he had either you or the leash."

"You said it was drugs, right? It's time to face the facts–even if he _does_ get his memories back, they'll probably be completely incomprehensible to him. Just remember…the greatest rewards take patience. If all else fails, you can always make new memories with him."

Both men turned back to Shino until Ukon abruptly left, shaking even further: it was obvious he had used up all of his self-control for the day. Kiba just turned to Shino, smiling into Akamaru's fur. "…Thank you."

Shino merely nodded his head, groaning a little as a small wave of pain shot through his stomach while the pain killers tried to work faster. He sighed, and soon he found Kiba over him. He stared up at the other man, his cheeks slowly becoming a bit more red. He frowned. "Kiba…"

Kiba grabbed his hand. "Come on, Shino. Let's get you in bed."

"…Alright."

The shorter man pulled him off the couch and helped him as best as he could into the guest bedroom. Finally, Shino sat down on the bed and removed his trench coat. He sighed a little, his stomach acting up a little bit again. When were those pain killers going to work? He started taking his shirt off, and Kiba stuttered.

"Wh-What are you doing?"

Shino glanced over his shoulder at the brunette, slightly perturbed that Kiba was so dense. "…Changing for bed…?" His shirt was pulled over his arms by now, and Kiba could get a good look at his back.

"Why? I'm…er…I'm gay. Why–Wh-Wh-Why are you changing in front of me?"

Shino shrugged, going to his bags and pulling out a pair of shorts. "I'm not that attractive, so I don't really have to worry about it." Kiba immediately turned around, face going bright red, when Shino dropped his pants absentmindedly. His eyes widened a little and he shook his head. NO. That wasn't really true. Shino was _plenty_ attractive.

After a few minutes, he felt a hand on his back and practically leapt from his socks. He bit his lip to keep from screaming out loud and spun around. Shino was already in bed, just staring at him. The man frowned a little. "…Kiba. Why are you still here? You want to sleep with me?"

Kiba's face just darkened and he stood there rooted to the spot, frozen. For the split second after that he thought Shino was being serious, until he remembered earlier on in their friendship. No way in _hell_ could he get in that bed next to him. Not after he was so worked up over this. He could practically see himself waking up in the morning with a raging hard-on. He rubbed the back of his head.

"No. Sh-Shino, I need to ask… Are you okay now? Wh-Why were you so…"

"My ulcer came back. I think it's the stress of the trip down here."

Kiba's face fell, and he looked at his feet. "Oh…I'm…I'm really sorry about that…"

"It's not really a problem, Kiba. I'm here because I want to be here."

"Yes, but the ulcer is because you–"

"Don't blame yourself for this. It was just the stress of coming down here. Akamaru nearly ran off four times and we thought we wouldn't see him again. That was the stress. That and this whole…c…crazy…week…" He fell silent, his eyes glazing over slightly for a brief moment before he looked away, and Kiba pursed his lips together.

He walked around to the other side of the bed, kicking his foot against the ground a little before he placed his hand right over Shino's stomach. "…Well…either way…thanks…for that whole Sakon thing. Thank you for not letting Ukon get his hands on that leash… It…really means a lot to me…"

"It's not a problem."

Kiba lowered his head a little. "Uh…could you…forgive me for being so rude to you earlier tonight…?"

Shino sighed, placing his hand over the brunette's, closing his eyes. "I guess this means you forgave me for earlier, then?"

"…Well…I'm not swatting your hand away, so I suppose that's a yes…"

"Then I forgive you for being a bastard all day. And you definitely want to shower. You stink like booze and sweat." He opened his eyes and reached up with a free hand, letting his fingers curl around some of the shaggy hair framing Kiba's face. He stared at him for a long moment, parting his lips to say something about Kiba's hair also being really greasy and falling silent. Despite all of that, he looked really good right now. Really…_stable_. Shino's lips curled into a smile.

Kiba nodded his head, feeling heat rise to his cheeks. "T-Take it easy, Shino."

He pulled away and walked toward the door, heading straight for the bathroom. Shino sighed and settled back down, the pain subsiding. He relaxed for the first time all day and rolled over onto his belly, head turning to stare at the wall until he drifted off to sleep.

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and locking it. He stared at his face, slowly moving his hand up to the bit of hair Shino had been grabbing onto. He cringed slightly at how greasy it was. He spun around, lifting his arm and taking a big whiff. He put a hand to his nose immediately. "He's fucking _right_! Why didn't Kimimaro tell me yesterday??" He started growing self-conscious, ripping his clothes off and heading for the shower.

"Shit…why didn't _Kidoumaru_ say anything about me stinking to high heaven?? Why did it have to be _Shino_!?" Inside, he pretty much knew the reason–Shino never really kept stuff like that from anyone. In situations like that, he had no problem saying someone stunk without even batting an eyelash.

He lathered up the soap, going over his body and making sure to clean himself good. He nearly ripped his hair out four times going over it with shampoo. After a while, he finally settled back and stared at the wall, his mind wandering.

…Kidoumaru was so…loud. He was talkative. Not nearly as quiet as he had been when he was a total nerd in high school. He smiled, putting a hand over his eyes. Well then. That was why he liked Shino. He was quiet, he was calm…and Kidoumaru's tan just wasn't doing it for him. He liked that pale skin twice as much. Yum.

He wanted to get out of the shower, but there was one more thing he needed to do first.

A few minutes he stepped out of the shower, shaking his hair dry. He went to the mirror, inspecting it tenderly. He frowned. Humph. That fifth wash of his hair didn't seem to have done much difference than the first four. He could only hope…

He stepped out of the shower, feeling a bit better about this whole thing. There. That was it; he liked Shino for Shino. Now it was just a matter of making Shino jealous. Could he _really_ lead Kidoumaru on like that? Kidoumaru didn't seem like the type to willingly help with that. Light snoring from the guest room perked his interest, and he walked in, staring at the man sleeping on his belly with his arms curled up toward his head.

He'd heard somewhere that that sleeping position indicated a personality sensitive to criticism, and he put a hand over his mouth to hide his smile. Of course, it also aided digestion, so perhaps Shino had picked it up after that ulcer the first time? He'd been sleeping like that before when he first spent the night, only his arms had been flat behind him. Like that other position… What was it? The Soldier position or something but on their back? Quiet and having high standards?

"Nice, Shino. You are so freakin' transparent when you sleep…"

He walked over, putting his hand in Shino's hair. Shino swatted his hand away, mumbling, "Geez, Dad…stop," and rolling around onto his back, arms splayed out all over the place.

Kiba had to hide another smile, probably the most hilarious thought crossing his mind. He traced a hand along Shino's neck, smirking. "Oh yeah, I'm your daddy alright…"

He sighed a little, leaning over and planting a tender kiss on the man's forehead as another quick thanks for coming all the way down here and bringing Akamaru back to him. Shino grumbled something about his father again, but he ignored it that time. Instead, he'd taken to trying his hardest to keep his eyes off the bit of tummy poking out from the shirt that had been pulled up in that roll over. He eyed it hungrily before making a quick trip to the bathroom.

He came out ten minutes later and holed himself up in his room again, listening to the sounds of the snoring next door and the snoring from Akamaru beside his closet. He stared up at the ceiling, cursing silently.

He'd been hoping Kidoumaru had been his reason for his mother's death, but since he wasn't really in love with Kidoumaru or anything that meant his assumption had been wrong. Why was he still thinking about that? He didn't _need_ to know this big reason his mother had kept assuring him was there. All he needed was Shino to suddenly come around and tell him their feelings for each other were mutual.

That was all he really wanted besides that reoccurring desire to hear his mother's voice again.


	25. Finally, Clarity!

_Howdy, folks! Guess how MY first week of school went? It was alright. I didn't steal anyone's lunch money or anything, nor did anyone pick on me…except for my friend, but that's just our way of bonding. (Us tossing little comments at each other.) I have a Math class with a friend of mine from high school, and I met a friend from high school there that I hadn't seen in forever. He's apparently getting a degree in forensic psychology or something like that. I remember it was a lot of fun in world history with him and lunch, and we made jokes with each other. He was my "lesbian lover". Ha ha. It was pretty great. Since I'm terrible at getting to know people, I remember I had a rather horrific experience where I walked up right next to this group of people I was interested in befriending and said, "I'm not a stalker or anything" and sat down right next to them, completely silent the rest of the time. They…of course, wound up leaving right around the same time I had to leave, so I wound up following them out the building. It was so terrible. They definitely thought I was a stalker then… _

_Well…about those guys… With Beth there to ease my habit of closing myself off around a big group of people, I actually wound up getting to know two of the guys from that group! (I even let one of them borrow Another Note: BB Serial Murder Case, the Death Note spin-off novel.) Huzzah! It was so great. _

_And now I get to hang out with Mu all day, one of my friends from high school as well. She has a taser, apparently. And she made sure it was on right before she grabbed me in a big hug. Not…not too pleasant… It wasn't the most comforting hug I'd ever received… (It was just to scare me. She never unleashed it on me or anything.) She loves to scare people. She drove me home the other day and ALWAYS lurched to a stop and drove twelve miles over the speed limit, blasting music from the car. At one point she ran right into the lane of some guy, not even stopping, asking, "Are we gonna make it? We gonna make it?" and then she turned into another lane at the last second and stopped in front of the car two cars down in the next lane. I said, "Guess we couldn't." and she said, "Yeah. We should be dead." By the time I got home, Finger Eleven's Paralyzer was playing. At volume 24…right in front of my house…with my neighbors watching. She's a scream. And I _do_ mean that in _every_ sense of the term. _

_I'd like to at least make one friend that doesn't spout video games all the time. Mu is one of those people, but, as you probably guessed, it's sort of scary to be around her sometimes. (Not that I really care. It was fun, despite the fact that I screamed at least three times.) Hmmm…Beth and Brett talk to me about video games. The guy I loaned Another Note out to also kept talking about video games to me assuming I had any idea about them. Geez. I'd like to get to know someone who _isn't_ a gamer for once… Speaking of gamer… I need to make sure I mention Kidoumaru as a gamer at least once in this story before this arc is over… But I keep mentioning the spiders. Damn it. I'll make Kiba go over to his place or something… Hmm… Damn. How am I going to fit that in there with all I've got planned?_

_My Creative Writing class sounds like the most fun and nerve-wracking at the same time. We had to introduce ourselves…and I got so freaked out because we had to give a lie and a truth…so I mentioned my cat had licked off all her lower body hair versus I'd swallowed a bee. ): I got so freaked I slipped up and made it sound like it was twice as bad as it actually was–she's actually only licked all of the fur off of her belly__. Jeez. And I was six minutes late to my Drawing class… And I nearly fell asleep in Government both classes; not just the introduction day which is usually the one expected to be boring. (Of course, I hadn't slept the previous night.) Math seems like the only one that will be relatively bearable. I feel more productive in that class than I felt in the last one. (The one I failed so I had to take it again.) This new school year looks full of promise and failure all at once. Ugh. Wish me luck… o.o;_

_ABOUT THE CHAPTER NOW:_

_This chapter's more…happy. (Probably because it's around that time for Kiba to start laughing and the fact that I'm in such a good mood over my new year of school. I love to learn so much.) And wow…I likes me some Shino getting all jealous and talking bug. (And Kidoumaru talking spider? Tasty.) Mmmm. Sexy. Just like when he was trying to sweet-talk TenTen. Oh yeah. Shino knows how to talk to the ladies… (He's such a freakin' nerd.) I'd take bug over dirty any day._

_He's only going by what his father taught him, though. _

_**Shibi:**__ Yeah, girl. You've got the cutest outer shell. Let's see your plump insides!  
__**Girl:**__ PLUMP? What the hell. GET OFF.  
_

_Jesus, Shibi. Never use the word plump around a girl. You could've gone with silky or wet. Wet probably would've been a sexier use of words…considering what you were about to do._

_Anyway, I reached a stump in Shino's character so I decided to look up his birthday and sign to get a better idea of it. He's an Aquarius. His character in this story actually sorta matches what an Aquarius is described like. Mind, Aquarius are fun-loving creatures that thrive on freedom and spontaneity and never really get emotionally attached to things. I mean, they do, but they are slightly detached at the same time._

_Doesn't sound like a match the emotionally-driven Cancer (Kiba), right? So…I decided to see if they are compatible. Here's what I got in return: (UGH.)_

"_Fun-loving Aquarius will be too unpredictable for a vulnerable Cancer. The Cancer is usually more open and steady than Aquarius, who is inclined to find new adventures. Aquarians love to share their life stories with the world while Cancer is satisfied to concentrate on personal obligations. Cancer have a conservative taste; Aquarius taste are usually the opposite. The Cancer's needs can't remain unsatisfied. Aquarius tends to exempt him/herself from the emotional requirements. They are able to find common language in the bedroom for some time, though they will not sustain this partnership in a drawing room for a long time. The eccentricity of Uranus does not go well with the moods of Luna. Odds against this combination are too great for this combination, unless one will become subservient to the other."_

_The first thing I thought after reading was, '…Shit. It can't work.' And then I realized…I'm the fucking author! I don't have to listen to this bullshit; I can make it work without breaching their characters! So. I made Shino's parents share that type of unsteady relationship. Hence, what you get in this chapter when Shino asks about his mother. What Shino's father relays to Shino is also very helpful in giving the bug-nin material on what not to do if he wants to make a relationship with Kiba work._

_(Wouldn't I be cruel if I decided to make the relationship work in this story and then have it fall to pieces in one of the sequels? The thought is very, _very_ amusing. But I'm not that cruel.)_

_I _am_ cruel for giving you such a long-ass A/N, though. (Especially since most of it isn't even about the story.)_

_Enjoy the chapter. I hope it's satisfactory. I spoil you all too much. (You like me spoiling you all. Don't deny it…) I'm upset with this chapter, though. It feels more disjointed than the rest… Hmmm… It's because I use too much introspection in this rather than action, I think…_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 25_

Shino walked out of his room sometime around nine, which was amazing, considering the fact that he hadn't wanted to wake up from that dream at all. Being here was making him remember back when he was a kid, when he actually used to _sleep_. Come to think of it, he _was_ sleeping more often, wasn't he? As he walked toward the kitchen, he spied the back of Kiba. He was really only wearing boxers and a white wife-beater, but…

Well, _damn_. Kiba had nice shoulders. Nice and tan; shit, not even TenTen looked that good half-naked, and she was pretty muscular for a girl…

As he stared, he continued to walk, eyes grazing over a cluster of scars over Kiba's shoulders. His eyebrows furrowed, and his mind started to wander. Ukon had said something about Sakon leaving scars. Well…were those the scars? His eyes drifted down, back to Kiba's chest and lower, down to his abs–yikes, he could see them through that wife-beater–, lower, down to his–

_Clunk!_

He walked head-first into the china cabinet. There was a massive shudder from the blasted object, and he doubled backward. All eyes immediately turned to Shino, where he was rubbing his head and taking a few baby steps backward.

Hana immediately went to the cabinet, steadying it. "Jesus, Shino! What the hell?? You're going to break something in here!" She grazed over the contents, glad to see that nothing had broken. "What were you thinking!?"

Shino rubbed at his temple, wincing slightly and looking over at Kiba. Kiba was staring at him, face completely blank. He forced a smile onto his face and dropped his hand. "Well, I was just…er…" His cheeks went red. "Wh…Where did you get those scars on your shoulder, Kiba?"

Kiba turned that same awkward shade of red as Shino and looked down at his shoulder, pulling at the wife-beater to cover it as best as he could. "Um…that…'s nothing. It's nothing…" The second he released the strap, it went right back towards his shoulder, leaving the scars uncovered futilely.

Hana nodded her head in his direction. "Wild sex, he says."

Kiba went red, turning and glaring at her. "S-Sis! I only told you because you saw–" He cut himself off, returning to his bowl of Cookie Crisps and turning an awkward shade of purple. "It's nothing."

Shino rubbed his head a little. "I figured. Ukon told me Sakon probably screwed you over and left scars…" Inside, he was starting to steam. _'Bastard,'_ he thought. _'I'll kill him… Hurting my K–no…_friend_…'_ He went and took a spot next to Juugo, glancing over to see the man looking a wreck. He leaned toward him.

"Hey, Juugo, you okay?"

Juugo turned and looked at him, and it was apparent he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before because of his bloodshot eyes. He stared at Shino for the longest moment before he glanced over at Kiba, then at Hana, and finally back toward his pancakes. "…'S nothing… Just…uh…her test the other day didn't go as planned…" His voice barely whispered, so Kiba didn't hear it.

Shino stared at him, his voice lowering to a whisper as well. "What do you mean? She's sick?"

"Er…no. She's not. Like I said, it's nothing…" He turned back, stuffing his face with pancakes. After a while, he slammed his fork down on the table and stood, immediately going to the backyard. "…Um…I'm going to go walk the dogs…H…_Kiba_. I'll be back around eleven."

Shino frowned, and Kiba shot him a dirty look, like he couldn't _believe_ he'd just told him instead of his sister. The man frowning tried to convince Juugo he could do it. "Hey, that's my job. You don't have to, Juugo. Here, let me go walk…them…"

The look on Juugo's face clearly said he needed to get out of the house, and Shino trailed off as the orange-haired giant glared at him. As the man left, Hana grabbed his plate and started eating the remaining pancakes off of it. She gave Shino a bright smile and took a bite, sighing happily. Shino just stared at her. "So…what's with Juugo…?"

"He'll get over it. He's just…unsure of what to do right now."

"Do what? Does he have to do anything?"

"Well, obviously, since he's engaged to me."

Shino just stared at her even more, and she burst out laughing like there was some big inside joke that he wasn't a part of. Kiba looked over at her, the colour slowly draining out of his face. He shook his head, shoving the bowl of cereal away from him, chunking the spoon across the room. Amazingly, it bounced off the wall and landed in the sink, and Kiba stood, his voice clearly showing he was immensely upset about the whole subject.

"When was your first time with Juugo?"

"Nearly five weeks ago. The Friday before our first date. I'm surprised no one saw us in the mail room…although it _was_ right before closing time… Anyway, you have to remember there was an attraction since he remembered me from two years ago as the woman who tried to put him behind bars. So…before our first date isn't really that hard to understand. He'd been thinking about me for about a year, when he realized he was thankful for me prosecuting against him in a therapy session. When he told me that…I just…couldn't even help myself. It was just so sweet in an odd way. He even–"

"Unbelieveable! Un-_fucking_-believeable, Hana! Getting knocked up your first time _just_ like Mom! And before you even officially dated!? Even _I_ have better sense not to give it away before anything serious!" He steamed, growling and leaving through the back door, just like Juugo had done before. He slammed the door behind him, not even caring about the dangers of Akamaru breaking it down anymore.

Shino turned and looked at her. "Isn't almost five weeks a little…er…_early_ to confirm anything?"

"Not really. The earliest you can actually confirm a pregnancy is at two weeks, but I doubt it'd happen that early unless you were actually _trying_ to conceive and checked fervently. I'm a month pregnant, and I didn't even have morning sickness, so I had no idea. When they tested me, they saw my uterus was _really_ wide for a normal woman and figured something was up. I didn't think something was weird when they wanted to test my blood immediately after, but I had no idea they were testing my blood for _that_… As it turns out, my uterus had expanded and my blood contained the hormone pregnant women release when the egg attaches itself to the wall of, well…you know. We didn't really have a condom with us when we had sex that one Friday…so…that's got to be when it happened…"

She stared at the back door for a while, her eyes softening a little sadly. "But I just told Juugo after Kiba came home last night. …G…Give him some time to think about it and he'll be happy… He's just anxious because Suigetsu's a bit possessive of his friends and that man already has something against Kiba, apparently. Well…" She rolled her eyes. "Of course, he's _also_ anxious for the baby…but…I welcome it with open arms. Reminds me of how _I_ was conceived, except me and Juugo were sober… You can bet your ass I'm going to give the baby more of my love than my mother gave me when I was at that age…"

She smiled, looking up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "…Hmmm…I wonder if it'll have Juugo's hair… I hope it does. I got tired of staring at family photos filled with brown hair years ago…"

Shino just stared at her, unable to say anything. Was he supposed to say congratulations in a situation like this? What? She turned and looked at him, stuffing more pancakes into her mouth. "Well, the only problem we have now is we're going to need a place to live. There's no way in hell I'm raising my child in that suite of mine, or anywhere near where Juugo lives. I lived in that city the first six years of my life. I know how hard it is for a kid not having much growing up or living in a cramped apartment. Maybe we can move to the suburbs… That'd be great, wouldn't it?"

Shino stared at her for the longest time before he closed his eyes, trying to picture it. Somewhere with a big backyard, enough room for the triplets and Kuromaru, enough space in the house for a child. He let that thought overtake his mind for a few moments, until he realized that'd be a wonderful idea. Settling down, having a bunch of kids and raising them in the suburbs… He opened his eyes, surprised to see she was smiling and staring straight at him. She leaned her cheek into her hand, giggling.

"That must've been a happy daydream… You've got a great big smile on your face…"

Shino looked down at the table bashfully. "Yeah…well…it seems nice. I think Juugo would enjoy getting away from the city…"

"I think he would, too… He hasn't had a single nightmare since he came here. Did you know that before, when he lived in the city, he had to take an hour long route to work in order to avoid the police station and a few other streets he had bad memories from as opposed to an even simpler twenty minute route? He was a mess. Since he came here, he's been a complete lamb. Being out of the city has had a great effect on him…"

"Yes…but…seeing all of his problems like that… Don't you think having a kid this early on is going to be too much for him? What if he gets worse? You'll have to start the psychotherapy all over again…"

She smiled, eating the last bite of pancakes and taking it to the sink. "…No. I'm sure he's most upset over this because he's afraid of what kind of father he'd make… He may take a bit longer than most people to adapt to big changes like this…but I think in the end, this baby will bring out the best in him…" She turned around, leaning on the sink. "I think a baby is the best thing to heal him, Shino. And if not–" She put a hand to her stomach, nodding her head confidently. "–then _both_ of us will heal him."

Shino finally smiled. "Congratulations, Hana."

She walked over, kissing the top of his head. "Thank you, Shino. Now go take a shower so you'll smell good for this barbeque dinner. Fridays were always barbeque night for us–our family, that is. I really think this dinner will be the turning point for my brother."

Shino nodded and grabbed some clothes to change into after the shower. The entire time he was in there, washing himself, he couldn't help but wonder–where the hell had Kiba gone in his lack of clothes?

Lack of clothes… Hmmm… His mind started to wander, and he didn't really have it in him to scold himself for thinking such dirty thoughts.

–––––––––––––––––––

He stepped out of the bathroom, drying off his hair as best as he could and mentally tallying again. Eight.

He walked out into the hallway, surprised to see someone through the window. Kiba's door was open, and there was a glimpse of–

He walked into Kiba's room, knocking on the window, slightly amused. The man turned around, glaring at him. Shino smiled. "Done with your tantrum? You can't change the fact that she's pregnant, you know… You might as well accept it. Just think about it…a new niece or nephew to add to your family. Hell, what if it's twins? Wouldn't that be great? Then you'd have five in your family instead of four."

Kiba's eyes hardened, and he pointed his finger at the glass. "I'm…I'm only getting mad for my parents's sake. Mom would be pissed at Hana for doing the same thing she did, and Dad would be pissed at her for getting pregnant out of wedlock."

"Still…does that justify giving the people who live behind you a picture for their pin-up calendar?" He slid the window open, grabbing Kiba's shirt and pulling the brunette toward him. "I'm sure _someone_ appreciates you parading around in your underwear, but the people who live behind you probably don't…"

Kiba raised his eyebrows at him, looking down at himself. "What?" He looked back up at Shino, pursing his lips together angrily, his eyes showing something slightly amused swirling around in them. "You think I'm still _wearing_ my boxers? Well, then you're going to be _sorely _disappointed…"

Shino sighed, rolling his eyes a little. "Kiba…don't be like this. I'm sure it must be hard for you. But…where one life ends, another must begin. Don't look at this so badly…"

Kiba reached his hand in the window, fisting Shino's shorts and yanking them down. "I'll give _you_ something bad to look at! Take a gander at those legs, Shino! Do the words 'tanning booth' mean anything to you??" He snorted, looking away. "Ever hear of the words _'leg wax'_?"

"Men have hair on their legs, alright?? Real men don't wax!" He pulled his shorts back up, glaring a little… "But I'm sure you know all about that." …He grabbed Kiba's arm and yanked him inside the room, knocking the box of CD's to the ground and everything near the window sill. Kiba let out a loud yelp, falling onto the ground on his back.

Shino grabbed one of his ankles and waved it around, pointing at all of the brown hairs dotting his legs, though they were a lot shorter than his own–they almost looked like they were growing back after a shave or something…or, like he'd mentioned earlier, a leg wax. "Oh, wow! And apparently you're a real man, too… Look at that. Who would've thought?"

Kiba kicked his ankle out of Shino's grip, taking Shino's jest personally. He pouted, jumping to his feet. "Yeah, I'm a real man! I'm also damn good-looking, too!" He rubbed his hand down his legs a bit more seductively than he would've chosen for the situation, a spark of something Shino couldn't see because he was too busy staring at those legs filling his eyes. "See these legs? They're my second biggest asset besides my–"

"Abs?"

Kiba glared at him, lifting his wife-beater and looking at his abs a little. He hadn't hit the gym in ages. What the hell? His abs could've stood for some tweaking to make them _really_ something to look at. Not that…wait, had _Shino_ just suggested his abs were his biggest asset!? He turned to stare at Shino, starting to stutter.

"I…uh…I meant…my…my ass, actually… But…uh…" He went red, shifting from foot to foot bashfully. "I guess…my abs are good, too…"

He left the room abruptly. Shino just stared at him, grabbing a quick look of Kiba's _biggest_ asset. Not too big or too small… He chuckled, shrugging his shoulders. That was good, too… Wait…what was he _thinking_?? He'd even jacked off to Kiba in the shower, too!

He turned to stare at the CD's on the ground, still a bit upset by how difficult Kiba was. When he'd met him what felt like ages ago, he'd really not…counted on him being so difficult like this. Kiba was moody and vulnerable and ever-the-child throwing tantrums whenever he could. He was pretty sure he was only this acting this bad because of the loss of his mother…but how long would it take for him to recover…? The way he was acting, it seemed like it would take a _lot_. Still…he'd had to have said something that set Kiba off. What was it? His eyes glazed over, and he stared at the CD he'd picked up, not really looking at it but, rather, past it.

He was lost in his own little world for a moment, until finally he snapped out of it and focused on the CD in his hand. His eyes scanned over it, never seeing one like that before in the box. He spun around the room a few times, trying to figure out where it had come from. Apparently…

He bent down, staring at the small shelf under the window, beside the dresser. There was a little case opened up right beside it, like it had fallen out. He looked at all the books–lots of books about dogs and a few comic books, numerous amounts of books from childhood Kiba had never thrown out. He spied one, The Runaway Bunny, and picked it up.

Another CD case fell out…the CD unmarked like the one he'd found on the floor.

Hmmm…curiouser and curiouser…

Shino picked up the one that had fallen out of the book, noticing a number on the front of the case. He picked up the one on the floor and deposited the CD back into it, flipping it closed and staring at the number.

One.

The one he'd found in The Runaway Bunny was numbered three.

He grabbed the CD player off the ground by Kiba's bed, grabbing "1" and sticking it in there. He put the headphones over his ears, pressing play.

The first thing he heard was the barking. In the background a steady barking pounded like a heartbeat, constant and ever-present, no matter how faint. The second thing he heard was a bird, loud and chortling away on a tree somewhere. The quality was bad, but still he could hear what was going on. The third thing that reached his ears was the shuffling of grass beneath someone's feet.

Finally, a woman started to speak. Her voice held that same gruff, yet feminine, tone Hana's did, though it was a bit deeper than Kiba's sister.

"I was diagnosed with cancer the other day. They say I've got until mid-August if my health stays the same right now and I make sure to eat a little healthier. At first I wanted to call you and tell you and your sister, but…you quit your job when Dad died, Kiba, and still haven't gotten a new one yet… It's been a month and a half, boy. I want you to get a job, so I need you staying right where you are. You need to grow up, that's why your father sent you out of the house in the first place. So…I decided I'd make an exercise for you to help you get over this, if and when you discover I'm dead and come down here to grieve… I'm happy with the life I lived; if your father were still alive I would've probably dealt with this badly, but…right now the only thing I regret is leaving you and your sister behind… You hear these dogs in the background? I've been selling these things off, and I'm preparing for you coming down for Easter…but I know that by the time you ever hear this–_if_ you ever hear this; I'm planning on setting this on the top of your dresser some time in June–the dogs won't be there anymore and it'll be even harder for you to deal with it. This idea I have…this exercise…it's like a scavenger hunt. By the end of this…I want you to deal with this appropriately and find your way back to where you belong."

There was a short pause, and that faint sound of dogs got a little louder, and louder…and louder still. Finally, it resounded clearly in the microphone, and he heard the whining of one of the dogs, jumping at some metal fence of some sort. She did something, and the dog started to bark.

"This is your first clue, Kiba. Can you guess where the next clue is? There's one clue for each major event in your life that I was a part of. At least, the ones I enjoyed the most… You can figure out this puzzle. I know you can. It's all a matter of following the clues to the prize at the end, my little pup. I hope you hear my voice again soon. Good luck."

The CD wrenched to a halt in the player, and Shino took the headphones off his ear. He sat up, feeling a whole swirl of emotions he couldn't really put his finger on. Not that it was important. Kiba hadn't known about any of this. What… When would be the best time to tell him? Sure, it would be best to say it as quick as possible, but there was a while left before he had to leave. He could show this to Kiba on Saturday. It would certainly keep him busy, wouldn't it?

He put the CD case labeled "3" back into the book and put that back in the bookshelf. Kiba's mother sure was something, coming up with a scavenger hunt like that… He stowed the CD back into its case and put everything back where they were supposed to go. Then, he took the CD case–the first one he'd found, "1"–and placed it underneath his pillow in the guest room.

Hana came in the room. She smiled. "Shino…Juugo's not back yet, but could you start on the barbeque? I laid everything out for you, even the sauce and the meat. All you have to do is cook it. I'm going to be making coleslaw and lemonade… Maybe some egg salad sandwiches for Juugo, in case he's too upset to eat chicken."

Shino nodded his head. "Ever make a broccoli-spinach dip?"

She stared at him, that smile slowly growing larger. "No. I have not… You think we should have chips with this meal? That seems more like an appetizer, don't you think?"

He shrugged, walking out of the room and into the kitchen. "It's _really_ good. I'm sure Juugo would really like it. Just take sour cream and spinach and broccoli and mix it together. Oh, and maybe even a touch of cream cheese. But not too much; that might clash with the sour cream…" He walked out to the grill, staring at the meat and the sauces all set out for him.

He smiled brightly. He hadn't done this in quite some time… This was going to be quite refreshing.

–––––––––––––––––––

Kiba picked at the fraying in his jeans. He couldn't remember the last time he'd worn these jeans… Oh wait…he'd been wearing them the day he met Shino. Of course, that was _before_ they got snagged on that bush Akamaru ran by and wound up getting a large rip in the knees immediately after he'd run off from Shino…

He leaned forward in the chair set up near the house, in the front yard, and he stared down at his abs, glaring at them bitterly. "Fuck you," he muttered. "Who gives a shit if Shino thinks you're my biggest asset? I don't care." He looked up at the sky, his chest churning. "I don't care at _all_."

"_ZREE_! _ZREEE_!!"

He looked over at a cicada chirping rather loudly over on the tree he was sitting under. As he looked, he could see the large carpenter ants crawling up and down the wood, burrowing around the roots and coming up for food. One of them had wings, and he shuddered slightly. There was nothing worse than ants…but ants that could _fly_? Any bug that bit or stung and could fly made him nervous. That was downright disturbing. …Why was a drone venturing outside of the nest anyway? This wasn't the season for new colonies and new queens…

"_ZREE_! _ZREEE_!!"

He sighed, looking up at the sky and glaring once again. And there it was. Why the hell did he care about stupid bugs anyway? And why were they making him upset? They weren't roaches or anything.

"_ZREE_! _ZREEE_!!"

…_Roach_.

God damn it!

"_ZREE_! _ZREE_!! _ZREEE_!!"

His eyes darted to the tree, and he finally reached down to his left, picking up a rock and chunking it at the blasted thing. There was a soft "clunk" that sent him even further into a fit of rage. Why the fuck was everything reminding him of Shino!? Well, that was obvious, but still…he hated this so much! And if it wasn't one thing, it was–

"_**ZREEE**_**!! **_**ZREEE**_**!!**"

Oh, there was no fucking way…

He turned his head, surprised to see there was _another_ sitting right above the one he'd just killed, causing an even bigger racket in its distress. Kiba reached down, picking up another rock. He tossed it, and it bounced off right next to the cicada. In response, the cicada gave a rather panicked and, yet, strangely huffy, "_ZREEE_!!" and flew off.

Kiba sighed, watching it. He pouted a little, hunkering back down in his chair. Well…that got rid of _that_ problem, at least. Now there was a whole other problem he had to sort out… And then, very, _very_ faintly, he heard–

"_zreee_! _zreee_!!"

His head whipped around to the backyard, and he stood. He stormed over to the metal fence separating both yards–back and front–and walked through it. He turned the corner, surprised to see a phone on the table emitting that infernal noise. He stared at it, stunned. Who's–

A hand reached out and grabbed it. Kiba's eyes drifted toward that arm, finally to the man holding the phone to his ear, glad his frizzed hair wasn't getting in the way. Kiba sneered, giving Shino the dirtiest look he could muster–something like a mix between "I've just seen the source of the next World War, you asswipe!" and "Oh, well that's a lovely ringtone you have, you fucking creep-o!"

Shino looked at the phone, not even noticing him, and let out a wide smile. Kiba's heart practically leaped out of his chest. It was that mystery gi–

"Dad!"

Wait…_Dad_!? It was a woman, _surely_! It had to be! There was no other way to… Who the hell was he kidding? Shino…with a _girl_? He'd told him before this whole mess that his relationship with TenTen had failed miserably. He couldn't remember why, but that wasn't really important was it? His ears turned back to the conversation, and he picked up what sounded like Shino laughing. Again.

And sure enough, that blasted man was. He was _laughing_.

"Dad, that joke is _still_ funny, even after all these years. A dump truck. Classic. Anyway, why are you calling? …Uh huh? Really? That's great, D– Oh. It failed. Well…there'll be other women… Right……other _blonde_ women… So…is that all you wanted to say?"

Shino waited a moment, listening, until he chuckled. "Geez, Dad… Why the _hell_ would you go and do something like that…? No wonder it failed. Married women are off-limits–remember what you used to tell me? ……Oh…Oh…well…er…that's… Dad, she's his _sister_. …No, I'm not interested in her like that. …What the hell? Just because I'm not interested in my best friend's sister, it doesn't make me gay. I'm actually following your advice. I've become friends with her fiancée and she's pregnant. No way am I going after her. She's going to married soon– No. I've never gone after a married woman. ……Well…alright. I'll admit it. I _did_ sort of have a relationship with my co-worker, Ino. But she'd divorced her husband long before I even went after her and– What? Oh. She was blonde. …Whatever. I don't go after a specific woman, Dad. I don't think I really _have_ a certain fetish."

Kiba's heart sank, and he looked down at the grass beneath his feet, watching a stinkbug crawl across his foot. The sensation was almost painful, and he shuddered involuntarily. He lifted his leg, hoping the bug would just jump off…and it managed to crawl all the way under his foot. He winced, now feeling it tickling the bottom of his foot and being completely helpless at putting his foot down. Maybe he could just…

He burst out laughing when it hit the arch in his foot, and Shino turned to stare at him.

"Uh…Dad? I'm going to have to call you back…"

He closed the phone and stared at Kiba, watching him totter on one foot and laugh all at once. There was something going on with that one… Kiba bit his lip, putting his hands over his mouth, and fell backwards into the grass. Shino walked over slowly, wanting to figure out what was going on with him.

The brunette grabbed down, ripping the stink bug off his foot. That was a grave mistake, and soon he discovered the foulest stench emanating from his hand. He took a single sniff and put his hands to his nose, forgetting he was still holding it. He managed to shove it nearly up his nose and he just about died, as Shino looked on with a humorous expression on his face. It was something like amusement and distress all at once.

Kiba screeched. "Oh my God!! It's in my _nose_!! Ewww!!" He put a finger to one of his nostrils, exhaling sharply. The poor thing came flying out, landing on the ground and immediately scurrying off. Shino stared at it, then promptly burst out laughing.

He walked over, helping a very disgruntled and violated Kiba up. Kiba just glared at him, trying his hardest to contain his urge to faint at the stench that was refusing to go away now that it had marinated the insides of his nostril.

Shino wiped a tear from his eye and gave Kiba a hearty pat on the back. "Didn't your mother teach you not to stick foreign things up your nose?"

Kiba countered with a positively nasty, "Of course she did. It's a pity _your_ mother never got to teach you that…" He glared at Shino, looking positively pleased with his insult. He crossed his hands over his chest, sticking his nose up at him curtly. "That strike a nerve?"

Shino just stared at him blankly…until he just walked off and went back to grilling. He grabbed his phone, dialing his father's number. It picked up, and he continued like nothing had ever happened. "Hey, Dad? Yeah. Sorry. Something happened, but I can talk now. Huh? What? Oh, I can't tell for sure, but I think my friend shoved a stinkbug up his nose…" He chuckled. "…Yeah, I said the same thing. But apparently it was an accident or something. …Oh. Yeah, he just mentioned something about _my_ mother never getting the chance to teach me that." He burst out laughing. "Come on, Dad, I was only six and it was shiny… Of _course_ I was tempted to stick it up there. Whatever, Dad. Whatever." He sighed sadly and playfully all at once, his voice jesting. "I was _young_ and _restless_…"

Kiba just stomped off, completely furious that he hadn't gotten the reaction he'd wanted at all, long before he had a chance to hear Shino sigh and close the grill. The frizzy-haired man went over and sat down at the table, looking up at the sky.

"Yeah…I've been meaning to ask… About Mom… Why the hell did you never keep pictures of her?" There was a short moment of silence before his father struggled for a response to that.

"…Well…you never seemed to be interested…so…I just…never put them back up around the house after I'd finished grieving. You were in my room enough times, though…so _surely_ you saw the ones I'd put up on the wall…"

"Dad…I never knew her. Her face doesn't really stick in my mind. I've forgotten what she looked like. Just…what was she like? What did she look like?"

"Well… She was the funniest person I'd ever met. I didn't laugh for _years_ after she died, and that's not because I was grieving. I just…didn't find anything else funny. I had a different sense of humor than most. She knew exactly what made me laugh and made sure to make me laugh once a day, sometimes even more. She was so…smothering, though. Most of the time I had to leave the house just to escape her. She was just too passionate for me. Eventually…you were born and then she died and I realized I missed having her around. At the time I thought she was a pain in my ass, of course."

"That's…lovely?" Something twisted in his gut, and he started to get something eerily familiar about the entire situation creeping up in his chest.

His father started to laugh over the phone. "You have to understand, Shino, I need my space! I'd go out drinking with the guys to get away from her. When I came back, she'd smother me some more and tell me she loved me, asked me if I was cheating on her. She was very clingy, your mother…but she was also exactly who I needed to keep myself in check. It was hell being at home, but it was heaven at the same time. Do you understand?"

"…No."

His father sighed, struggling for words. "Your mother was really pretty. She had really frizzy red hair. That's where you get your frizzy hair. Thank goodness you didn't get that colour, though…" Shino could _hear_ his father cringing. "It was pretty and all…but she really stuck out with that hair. That's why I liked her, though. She was just a bizarre character! She lit up every room she walked into and even some of the rooms down the hall! See?"

"…You just…changed the topic entirely…"

"Shino, your mother was a clingy, energetic, spastic ginger!"

He groaned, looking up at the sky a little bit. "Dad, that doesn't really…answer my question."

"It _does_, unless there's something _else_ you want me to tell you that you haven't asked me yet…"

That was actually true, he could admit it. And that _wasn't _what he'd wanted to ask at first, either. He took a deep breath, letting the question fall out of his mouth like a lead weight. "…How much do you think she would have loved me?"

"…" His father went silent for a long, long time, until Shino had to stand up and open the grill. Once he'd checked to make sure the chicken was done, he deposited all of it onto a plate and stuck in the ribs. By the time he'd closed the grill again, his father finally started to talk.

"…She would've loved you so much…but…she wouldn't have been able to stand being around you. I know your mother. She could barely stand being around _me_ sometimes, especially when I kept saying I needed my space. To be honest, if you were to meet her on the street…you probably wouldn't like her. Even if she was your mother. She was too _moody_ for people like us, Shino. She was always fluctuating her moods, and most of the time when I came home she was in tears, thinking I'd planned on leaving for good. She over-reacted over everything. I don't think she would've been able to stand two of us around. She would've left for sure if she wound up living on into your adolescence."

"That's terrible, Dad. It's…not really comforting to know. Your marriage was so unsteady, and Mom wouldn't have been able to stand two of us around."

"You know, I tell myself the same thing, but at the end of the day I still look up at her pictures and try to remember exactly what it was about her that kept me going back home. I have to tell you, Shino…it was definitely the passion. As much as I wanted to just get out of there when we were still married. It was the fact that she wanted no one else but me."

"…She didn't want anyone else but _you_?" He smiled. "Sheesh, she could've done a _lot_ better, Dad…"

His father laughed. "Oh, Shino. I miss having you around. You have her sense of humor."

"…Really? I just assume I'm being rude."

"No. That's definitely her sense of humor. Of course, when I pulled a jest like that on her, she'd go ballistic and think I was being serious. Your mother was…difficult. And she threw tantrums like you wouldn't believe. It took her ages to get over even the littlest things. You wouldn't _believe_ the struggle I had when her father died. She was moping around for _months_! Hell, I still found her crying about it when she was pregnant with _you_, Shino! Of course, it wasn't like she was moping around, but it still affected her some two years later!"

Shino went silent, staring at the table. Then, he whispered.

"H…How _did _you get her to move on?"

––––––––––––––––––––––

He stared up at the sky, wallowing around in his own self-pity. Shino was a complete asshole. Unfeeling, uncaring, mean, insensitive. He'd gotten upset the first time he mentioned his mother…so why not now? _Why not_ _now_? What made today different than back then? He'd barely known Shino before. Surely that had hurt _less_ than someone he cared about saying something like that…

Nevermind. He didn't care at all.

A bouquet of flowers was shoved in his face. They consisted of various kinds of flowers–daisies and poppies and various other flowers that grew on the side of the road, a few reeds from some random pond, one or two roses scattered in there, and finally, in the very center, a single borage.

He looked past it at the man holding them out to him, and he finally forced a smile on his face. "Thank you." He took them, taking in the scent of that stink bug when he sniffed the borage. Damn it. Had it _really_– Oh, there it was. He could smell it _now_. The scent of something that smelled almost exactly like cucumbers. The borage–his mother's smell, without the musk.

His frown returned and he set the flowers down beside him. "Shit. Now I've just gone and remembered her. Thanks a lot, Kidoumaru."

Kidoumaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his cheeks tingeing pink. "Well, shucks, Kiba… I only did it because I knew you'd like it… Sorry. I can make up a new bouquet and bring it around if you like…"

He heard loud barking, and both men turned to see Juugo walking up, looking much calmer than he had before. The triplets looked calmer as well, though as rowdy as ever. Akamaru nudged Kiba real quick before getting dragged toward the gate by Juugo. The brunette touched Akamaru's head on reflex before the dog got pulled away, and he stared at Juugo, slightly surprised to see the orange-haired giant even looked like he'd cleaned himself up, too. He turned his head as the behemoth passed, suddenly shouting.

"Juugo!"

Juugo jumped slightly and turned back toward him, his face a bit puzzled. "Yeah?"

"You look great. Where did you go?"

"Oh…my new friend, Kimimaro. I passed him on the street. He gives great advice, but I'm sure you already know about that…" He stared at Kidoumaru, his eyes darkening. "…Who's that?"

Kidoumaru grinned, walking over and holding up his hand to him. "Kidoumaru! You're a friend of Kimimaro's? That makes me a friend of _you_, then! It's nice to meet you!"

Juugo stared at him for the longest time before a look of realization passed over his face. "Kidoumaru. Oh, that's right. Kimimaro was talking about you. It took me a while to put the name to your face because he kept calling you Spidernerd. Well, this was a nice chat, Spid–Kidoumaru." He shook the man's hand, opening up the back gate and letting the triplets and Akamaru go dashing into the backyard.

Kidoumaru gave the man a dark look. "…Yes. I'm…_Spidernerd_. I'm sure he told you all sorts of nasty things about me…"

"No. I mean, it was obvious he wasn't too fond of you, but he didn't really speak ill of you at all… He just kept saying Kiba was in love with you." As Juugo turned around to close the gate and turn the corner, Kidoumaru's face brightened and he turned around, eyeing Kiba.

Kiba forced a smile, suddenly getting cold feet. What the hell. Why had Juugo gone and just _said_ it out loud to him like that?? He _thought_ he was in love with the man at one point…but…now he knew he really loved Shino…

Kidoumaru walked back over, smiling devilishly. "So…you're in love with me, Kiba?"

The brunette smiled a little, nodding his head. Inside, he was practically shaking like a leaf. "Yes…Kidoumaru… Yeah. I'm in love with you. Thanks for the flowers. I really _love_ them. You just sweep me off my feet…" He was so glad he'd had at least a little practice milking the situation for all it was worth. He had his mother to thank for that…and that rather humorous moment with Sasori weeks earlier…

–––––––––––––––––––––

Juugo walked around the back, and Shino was already waiting for him. He had the barbeque all ready, and Hana was walking out of the house with a bowl of coleslaw and a few egg salad sandwiches on a plate–six in all. A bowl of chips had already been set toward the middle of the table, and what appeared to be some strange green dip took its place next to them. There were four glasses of lemonade at each spot and a pitcher in the very center. The dogs all ran off down to the kennels, and Hana placed the food-filled plates on the table. Shino grabbed the plates of meat and placed them around as best as he could, trying not to knock off any of the paper towels or plates set around the table for everyone.

Juugo walked over, his face softening considerably when he looked over at Hana. "Hana…" When she turned and looked at him, that soft smile on her face, he immediately went to her and grabbed her by the waist. "I'm so sorry for the way I acted. I shouldn't've run off like that… I just…I just…got so…er…" He went slightly pink, but his fiancée stroked his chin lovingly.

She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, placing a hand on his chest. "It's alright, dear. I understand you're just nervous being a fa–"

"Don't! Don't say that word." He paled considerably, forcing a smile. "N-Not until the baby's born… I mean…I just…I'd hate to get used to hearing that word and then…something…happening…with the baby…"

She chuckled, wrapping her arms around his neck. "That's alright, Juugo. I'm healthy as a horse. And you're healthy, too, so the baby will be healthy. You just have to trust me."

He winced. "Yes, but…but what if the baby…takes after _me_…"

"Oh, there's no worries there! I'm _counting_ on it taking after you!"

His eyes widened, and he rubbed the back of his head anxiously. "Er…you _are_ aware I broke my mother's tailbone coming out of her womb, _right_…? I'd…I'd hate for the same thing to happen to you… And…then there's also…this…this _problem_ with my brain…"

She smiled warmly. "I don't see any problem with your brain, Juugo." As she reached up on her tiptoes and kissed his nose, she tapped on his temple with her knuckle lightly. "Nothing wrong in there…" She let go of his shoulder and patted her rear. "And if I broke my tailbone giving birth to the baby, that would be all the better for me, since I'd have such a loving husband to treat me like a queen and wait on me hand-and-foot while I was on bed rest…"

A smile lit up his face, and he bent down a little and kissed her tenderly. "With you around, I don't even need a therapist…"

Shino waved his hand between them, and both of them nearly jumped at how close he'd been to them the entire time. Juugo gave him a strange look and Hana put a hand to her chest. She stared at Shino, stuttering. "Sh-Shino…did…did you used to stand that close to your _parents_ when they were having intimate moments??"

"No. My mother died shortly after I was born. Anyway. Where is Kiba?"

Juugo pointed with his thumb toward the gate around the corner behind him. "Back there. He's with some guy named Kidoumaru. Apparently he's in love with that guy. We should probably give them some time alone." He looked at Hana, his eyes earnest. "Maybe he can get Kiba out of this funk."

Shino stalked toward the corner, his voice a bit angrier than he intended. "Nonsense. Lunch is getting cold. He needs to come back here and eat with us. It'd be rude otherwise."

Both Juugo and Hana just smiled at each other knowingly and sat down at the table. She looked over at him, sighing happily. "Juugo, I made you some egg salad sandwiches because I know you won't eat any of this barbeque."

The man to her left gave a small, almost hidden, smile as he placed a hand on her back lightly. "Shino's going to be very angry at your prank, Hana."

"Good. I'm _counting_ on it."

––––––––––––––––––––––

Shino turned the corner and stopped at the gate, hugging the wall of the house as he stared at both men looking deeply into the other's eyes. His breathing hitched slightly, and for some reason anger welled up in his chest as the man–Kidoumaru–placed a gentle hand on Kiba's shoulder.

"Kiba, I brought you that bouquet as part of a mating ritual, you know…"

Kiba smiled wryly up at him, placing his hand over the other man's softly. "…You talking about spiders again, eh, Spiderman?"

The man leaned down, his voice in Kiba's ear, though Shino was surprised he could hear every word as clear as day–maybe he'd grown sensitive to this sort of thing? "I love how you call me that…I'm happy to know I finally caught you in my web… Now that I've caught you, I'm going to suck you dry…"

Kiba turned a rather embarrassed shade of red and forced a laugh–hell, Shino could easily tell that comment made him slightly uncomfortable, even if he _was_ in love with that man. Kiba reached up and caressed his cheek with his thumb, practically cooing. "Talk spider to me some more… Or better yet, why don't I try it out for a change…? I'm actually fairly knowledgeable when it comes to the animal kingdom…"

The man obviously didn't believe a word he said, but he humored him anyway. "Alright…try it."

Kiba went silent, searching for words. Shino watched him struggle for something, finally leaning against the wall and standing back for the show. Sure, he was extremely angry over this whole thing with Kidoumaru…but he wanted to see if Kiba was more intelligent than he'd gathered from previous conversations.

"…" Kiba thought for a few moments before he dipped his voice, rubbing his hand along the other man's arm. "I'll bet you could live a week if I bit your head off…"

Shino had to bite his knuckle to keep from laughing, and Kidoumaru just stared at the man as if he were stupid. He took a small step back, finally laughing. He rubbed the back of his head, shifted from foot to foot and glanced at Kiba every once in a while. Finally, he shook his head. "That's…not sexy…_especially _if you were talking about the head of my penis…"

Kiba snapped his fingers together, looking over at him, eyes narrowing slightly. "And asking if someone would like to meet your friend Dorothy isn't charming at all. We're both in the same boat, dillweed."

Kidoumaru groaned, reaching back over and stroking his hand across Kiba's chest. The man reacted instantly, going rigid and bright red. He looked away at the tree beside him, his breathing quickening slightly. The other man chuckled, leaning over and grazing his lips against the brunette's ear. "It doesn't matter. I can still get a rise out of you…"

Shino swore under his breath, and Kidoumaru stroked Kiba's cheek, looking his catch straight in the eye. "Kiba…I have wanted you since high school. Can you imagine how many years that was? Nearly fourteen years, pup. Juugo says you love me, but I have to be sure…" He moved his head so that both of their foreheads were resting against each other. "Are you in love with me? Do you want to be my lover?"

Kiba smiled easily, reaching up and rubbing his thumb against Kidoumaru's bottom lip. "Yes. I am, and yes. I do." He closed his eyes and leaned over to kiss him, but Kidoumaru pushed him back into the seat a bit angrily.

"And Roach? You two seem awfully close."

Shino's chest twisted when Kiba just stared at Kidoumaru with the straightest face and replied, "That fucker? Sure I'm his best friend, but he's a real pain. Right now I want him to just leave me the fuck alone. Didn't you get that last night? Wasn't it obvious? Sure I ran after him, but you know how much I care about my friends. Even if he was being a jerk-off, I wanted to see if he was alright."

Kidoumaru frowned. "What is he to you, Kiba? Don't lie to me."

For what felt like a minute, Shino just stared at Kiba, his mind going a mile a minute. _'Say more…no, that makes no sense. Say I'm a jackpot. Say…Say __something__ that'll make him lose interest, damn it! Can't you see that despite the fact that he cares about you, he's a total jack-off!? Say I'm your–no, that's absurd. I don't…well…I… What the hell do I feel about you anyway, Kiba? Hell, just say the truth or something! It's obvious I mean a lot!'_

Kiba smiled. "He's my best friend, Kidoumaru. Nothing else. If I could feel anything for him, I would, but don't you think he's too weird for anyone's taste…?"

'_What…the…hell… K-Kiba…?' _

Why did he feel so upset about that?

Why did he feel like he'd just been betrayed?

Questions that had kept themselves hidden for the longest time suddenly rushed to the surface.

Kidoumaru smiled, putting his arms around Kiba's neck and leaning down to kiss him. He closed his mouth over Kiba's, and the brunette's hands wrapped around him to rest on his back in response.

'_Oh _hell_ no. No making out with my Kiba, fucker.'_

Shino cupped his hands over his mouth, calling out. "Kiba!"

The second that name left his mouth, both of the men instantly tore apart, Kidoumaru nearly stumbling backwards into the wall and Kiba nearly falling over backwards in his chair, his head whipped around so fast. He turned, face slightly red, breathing a bit heavier than usual, his eyes as wide as saucers of milk.

"Sh-Shino!? Wh…uhm…h– H-How long have you been there??"

Shino walked over to the door of the gate, opening it. He didn't feel like answering that question. He nodded his head, pointing toward the backyard. "Didn't you smell the barbeque or do you still smell stinkbug? The food's done. We're all waiting for you." He turned to Kidoumaru, face calm. "There's not enough food for a guest. So…you'll have to leave. _Sorry_." The tone in his voice clearly said otherwise, and the amount of food they had would last for at least four days.

Kidoumaru grinned, catching that look in his eyes and knowing it well. He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, grabbing Kiba and pulling him close, planting a kiss in the crook of his neck. All the while, his eyes were locked with Shino's, sparkling with the thrill of the soon-to-be game of who moved fastest. He was absolutely confident he'd come out the victor. He pushed Kiba away, not even prying his eyes from the much taller, paler man's.

"Go on, Kiba. Your friend is calling."

Kiba stared at the two, biting his lip a little. He groaned, walking through the fence and stumbling into the back yard. He rounded the corner, extremely upset. Of course…they hated each other. That was easy to see… How could he make Shino jealous if he couldn't even get Shino around him and Kidoumaru to witness anything? He'd already tried the night before, but Shino had walked away, caring too much about his ulcer.

Both of the men's eyes followed the brunette until he rounded the corner. Then, Kidoumaru walked right up to the fence, leaning against it confidently, arrogantly. "I saw you out of the corner of my eye, Roach. It's obvious he likes me more than you."

Shino ignored his comment, crossing his arms over his chest and simply replying, "You like spiders, right?"

Kidoumaru grinned, nodding his head. "It's a hobby. I collect them, see. I have rows and rows of plastic houses in my living room, and you wouldn't _believe_ the amount of money I have to fork over to feed all of them… For a period of three months I had to collect my own pick for their food."

"…So you're aware the female spider chooses the male with the best gift, right?"

Kidoumaru nodded his head, going over and picking up the bouquet off the ground. He walked back over to Shino, handing it to him over the fence. "You're right. Be sure to give this to Kiba. He must've forgotten to pick it up when he walked back there… Of course, I hand-picked this bouquet knowing full well how much he cares about his mother. I knew how badly it would affect him because I love my mother even more than he loves his. I've known him for quite some time. Longer than you, Roach. It's natural this gift is _much _more heartfelt."

Shino just stared at the bouquet blankly before he smashed it against the fence with so much force many of the petals fell off of it. He smashed it against the fence until there were no more petals left at all–the only one intact being the borage. He picked it out, tossing the remaining bouquet to the ground. Kidoumaru stared at him in absolute shock, and Shino raised his eyebrows, giving the man a small smile.

"I brought him a dog the size of a small taxi. It's clear which gift is the best."

Kidoumaru, humiliated, barked out the only thing he could think of to make Shino back down. "Y-Yeah, well the female devours the male after she mates with him."

Shino's smile widened, knowing the history between them well. "Pity Kiba's not a female, eh, _pest_?" He sniffed the borage lightly, shrugging his shoulders. He locked the gate, spinning on his heels and going to the back of the house. As he rounded the corner, he could hear the gate rattling at how fiercely Kidoumaru was gripping it. There was a curse from behind him and he could hear the man stomping off as he made his way to the table.

Hana turned to him, smiling widely. "Shino! Is that a borage!? Those things take weeks to ship here! That's so sweet!"

Shino nodded, going and taking his spot next to Kiba, across from Hana. He handed it to her, giving her a curt nod that seemed to be his attempt at being debonair. She accepted it willingly, taking in the scent and showing it to Juugo happily. "Juugo! Smell it!"

Juugo smelled it, smiling lightly. "Yep. Just like cucumbers… Where'd you manage to find it?"

The man before them looked positively pleased with himself as he intertwined his fingers and propped his chin up in them. He smiled to himself like he had an inside joke none of them were a part of. "A friend of a friend." Kiba just rolled his eyes a little, knowing full well it was most likely from that bouquet Kidoumaru had brought him.

Hana nodded her head, looking at Juugo over the flower a bit more devilish than she would have liked, that grin slowly starting to form on her face. "Let's eat." She picked up a piece of chicken, and everyone did the same—though Juugo grabbed one of the egg salad sandwiches.

She took a bite, thoroughly enjoying the spiciness, and Shino smiled a little. "I hope it tastes good. I was on the phone at the time, so it might not be…well…done all the way…"

She shook her head, wiping some of the sauce off her face. "Oh, no, Shino! It's really great! You really outdid yourself! Your father sure did teach you well… My compliments to the chef. You made it sweet, just how Kiba and Juugo like it." She glanced at Kiba, who was staring at the chicken on his plate anxiously. She could tell he was upset over the all of the memories flooding over him, and for a split second she thought she'd gone out of her way for nothing.

The cook took a bite of his own and promptly spit it out, cursing sorely. "Shit!" He made a grab for his lemonade, downing a good third of the glass. Kiba turned to stare at him, eyes wide, and the two soon-to-be's across the table had to hide their laughter.

Shino stood, sticking his chicken with a fork and thrusting it in her face. "Why is this spicy? I _told_ you I can't handle spicy foods with this ulcer! You _have_ to know how badly this would go down if I ate this! Why would you deliberately get spicy sauce??" He pouted a little, clearly offended by her prank. Juugo started to laugh, and Shino sat back down, turning an embarrassed shade of pink. "See? And Juugo's laughing at me now… You're going to have hell to pay if my stomach starts hurting like crazy." He huffed, grabbing one of the egg salad sandwiches and trying to put this whole ordeal behind him. She leaned over, smearing sauce on his face absentmindedly, causing him to look back up at her with a look of utter horror plastered on his face.

She smiled warmly. "Well, just look at this as joining the family, Shino."

Everyone went silent as they appraised his reaction, and he finally chuckled, his face softening considerably. "…I can't see that as a good thing… Kiba's interested in a man who makes a hobby out of spiders, you conceived before even dating Juugo, and Juugo's considered a hazard in the eyes of the law…"

She and Juugo both started laughing, and they both pointed right at him, saying in unison, "See!? You fit right in!" It was obvious they'd make a wonderful couple–hell, they were already speaking in unison.

He stared at them for a long, long, _long_ moment before he started to laugh. "Y-Yeah. You're right! Heh heh, I guess I do…"

Over to his left, a small sniff sounded in the air, and the three all turned to look at Kiba. He sat at the table, wiping at the tears flowing from his eyes, and laughed. It wasn't so much a laugh as an attempt at one that failed half-way, but it was the first to come from fondly remembering his mother, and that's what made it great. He propped his forehead into his left hand, elbow resting on the table, and coughed out another laugh. They all stared at him, and Hana reached over the table, taking his free hand.

She wiped at her eyes, sniffing a little herself. "I…well, I couldn't prank Mom like I promised you, s…so I pranked Shino, Kiba… I know it's not the same but–"

"It's good enough for me." He smiled, sniffling a little and wiping at his nose with the hand he'd stopped using to prop his forehead up with. He squeezed her hand back, looking over at her.

"Thank you, Hana, sis." He turned his eyes to Shino, wiping at his eyes again. "You…You really are a jackpot, Shino, buddy."

Shino smiled. "It's good to hear you talking like that again, Kiba."

"And it's good to hear something nice come out of your mouth for a change." He went back to his food, and Shino ignored that comment. For now he could let that slide, despite the fact that he thought he had been nice the entire time he was here. Inside, his chest tightened as he thought of what Kiba had told Kidoumaru:

_"Yes. I am, and yes. I do."_

–––––––––––––––––––

Later that night, Shino had left the kitchen where Juugo had his hand pressed to Hana's stomach and was cooing a little at the child forming in her belly. Juugo turned to her, his face a bit anxious. "Hana…what would you have done if I refused to accept the baby?"

She frowned. "…I would have broken the engagement… I mean…I know I love you…but this is still a _life_, Juugo. If you didn't want it…what were you expecting me to do? Abort it until we were ready for kids? I can't just do that… I wouldn't even think of it."

He smiled, kissing her forehead. "That's why I love you, Hana. I really think you should become a veterinarian…"

She looked at him, sighing. "Yes, but with this baby on the way, I'm going to need my current job to get by…"

"…If you started your own veterinary clinic, you could make your own hours and work around any emergencies that were brought up…"

"Yes, but I can't afford going to a university and relearning the basics and even more than that if I have this baby, dear… Everything will work out for the best… If I want to give this baby all the love my mother failed to give me in the prime years of my life, I'm going to have to ignore my desire for going back to school. That's what happened to my mother. She had so much she wanted to do it, and…she left me behind with Daddy. I can't do that with this baby…"

"Alright. If I could carry the baby for you I would." He stroked her cheek and kissed her, and she giggled.

"If you could carry the baby for me I'd toss it on you in an instant, Juugo…" They both shared a humorous laugh and she kissed him again. "If it's a boy, I'm naming it after Daddy. Is that alright? Nareta? You can choose the name if it's a girl…"

"Nareta? Well…if it's a girl…I guess I'll name it…" He nuzzled her neck, smiling. "I think I'll name her Nozomi."

"Hope? You're so cute, Juugo." She smiled widely, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Shino, meanwhile, had walked off into the hallway. Kiba was on his mother's bed again, and Shino went into the master bedroom. He stared at him for a moment before he walked over and sat down next to where he was lying.

Kiba sighed. "…That baby… It would be better if she miscarried…"

"That's a terrible thing to say."

"…I know…but Mom would agree with me. And I think Dad would, too. Maybe it's just wishful thinking…but…if she miscarried…she could go back to college and get a veterinary education and do what she's best at… Is it wrong for me to want that for her?"

"…No. But…to wish for a miscarriage…"

"I don't wish for the miscarriage. You can't deny it, Shino. Her being a prosecutor is bad for that baby. She sometimes gets home around nine. She may deny it or come up with ways to get around that…but with her current job, she _still _wouldn't be able to give that baby the amount of love she's saying she wants to give it… What I wish for is a chance for her to do what she loves."

"Isn't that what she's doing, though? Having a baby with Juugo…being able to support it…"

"…Where will she _live_? That suite barely suited me and her and Akamaru. Juugo's a giant and a baby needs something more stable than a penthouse."

"She said she wants to move to the suburbs."

"She can't afford that, even with all the money Mom gave her… What are they going to do, Shino? I can't see the good in them having this baby. Sure it would help them grow closer…but…it…"

"There's no sense in you worrying, Kiba. You've got enough to worry about."

Kiba looked up at him, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"…What are you going to do when I have to leave? I have two weeks come next Thursday. I can't stay here forever."

Kiba frowned. "You don't have to stay here. You can leave if you want…"

"…I'm not leaving without you. Too many people need you up there."

Kiba sighed. "…They don't. Shikamaru has Chouji; Neji and Sasuke aren't really that close to me. And you've got those roaches."

"…You think those _roaches_ mean more to me than you do? I need _you _up there, Kiba."

Kiba turned and looked at him again, his cheeks growing hot. "…I know…but…"

"Kiba, before I met you, I didn't know if I was worth anything. …" He fell quiet for a while before he scratched the back of his head. trying to find the right words to express himself. "……I……I often wondered if my life meant anything. I was lonely and bitter and I couldn't see good in anything. I still have that problem…but…just…I know I _am_ worth something, now. I know more people are concerned about me than I thought at first. …I know I had more friends than I realized, and…I know I'm appreciated by all of them. If you're not up there with me, I don't know… I'm afraid it'll come back. I'm afraid I'll start questioning my existence again." He bit his lip, twisting his fingers together anxiously. "…You mean more to me than a huge colony of roaches in my house keeping me company…"

Kiba looked up at him, his cheeks flushing even further. "…Are you serious?"

"…Do I look like I'm joking?"

Kiba bit his lip, looking up at the ceiling. "…I need time… I just… I'm sorry." He stood, walking out the door. A little while later, Shino could hear the back door slamming shut. A little while later, Shino could heard the door to the gate beside the window in the master bedroom open and close. A little while later, Kiba had left, probably to go take a walk or something.

Shino didn't really care where Kiba was going at the moment.

At the moment, he was concerned about was where _he_ was going.

He frowned, standing and going back to the guest bedroom. He stared at the empty bed, slipped into it and looked up at the ceiling. He wasn't completely sure what he was feeling at the moment. He knew he was jealous of Kidoumaru. He knew he needed Kiba back in the city with him. He knew he felt right with Kiba. He…

He sighed, rolling over, and anxiousness started to churn about in his chest.

He had been reduced to questions back when he was a child. Back then he'd had simple questions: _'Why don't I feel like all the other children? Why are they embarrassed when their mothers pick them up for school? Isn't it more embarrassing with my Dad? Why can't I have my mother pick me up like that? Why don't I open up with anyone?'_

When he hit high school, the questions had changed: _'What am I worth? Am I needed in this world? Do I even feel anything? Am I really alive inside? Why am I so detached? Why can't I relate with anyone other than my Dad? Why can't I relate with _him _when it comes to women, and why don't I get turned on my porn?' _

Most of the questions stayed the same when he hit adulthood, but others popped up as well: _'Why doesn't it feel right with these girls? Why don't I care about them more? Why do I stay with this job even though I hate it?'_

All of that uncertainty…all of that doubt…questions, questions, questions. Poof: Most of them were clear to him now. The questions that had lasted into adulthood were partially answered when he met Kiba.

' _I am more open than most–or at least more open than Kimimaro–, I just have to trust someone first. I am worth something, at least, I'm worth being a friend. I do feel; I just don't feel as much as some people do and I don't feel in the same way as them. My father was the only one I trusted enough and he felt the same way I did. I can't relate to him when it comes to women because I don't like women; porn didn't affect me because I wasn't attracted to women, either. That's why it didn't feel right with the women I was with; I do care about them, it's just that I care about them for the sake that they need to be cared for, they need someone to show them concern and care…like TenTen… I care about them only as friends… I was with them because I was lonely, and for no other reason. I hated my job because I was lonely there and never connected with anyone; I started liking it when I knew Kiba would be there in the morning…'_

Sure, if he had made any other friend they could've answered those questions inside him. But Kiba was…different than that, wasn't he? Kiba made the work place a source of happiness rather than anxiety and boredom. Kiba had helped grow closer to people. Kiba had even curbed all the anxiousness in him that kept him from sleeping. Kiba was attractive. He'd had that dream about him; he'd jacked off to him twice now. He wanted to be near him, wanted him by his side. He knew he was still reduced to questions even now…but now the questions had changed yet again:

'_Does Kiba want me? Do I mean anything to Kiba? What is Ukon or Kimimaro to Kiba? Are they more than friends? And Kidoumaru–why does Kiba like him? Is it because he's good-looking and confident and caring? How _much_ does Kiba love him?'_

And all because of one man. …That gay, dog-loving, moody, vulnerable, tantrum-throwing pain in his side… That man that instantly seemed to see he was capable of being social, capable of caring about anything. That man that made him feel appreciated and needed and alive… Kiba Inuzuka: the man with a sister who was going to marry a man she prosecuted at one point, a sister with a big heart in love with a man with a heart just as big but with more difficulty expressing it… Kiba Inuzuka: the man that had a strange relationship with a dog the size of a small taxi that he babied like he would a child, despite the fact he could probably ride it like a horse… Kiba Inuzuka: the man that had answered so many questions and brought about so many more…

Shino closed his eyes, turning and facing the ceiling again. He couldn't sleep, and he didn't think he would all night. After all, he was fairly certain he had an answer to those questions that had been festering deep in his brain, silently hiding away and keeping their mouths shut. Now they were out in the open, floating around ever since that ordeal with Kidoumaru. Crossing his mind every ten seconds it seemed. His emotions were difficult to grasp most of the time, but he could grasp that much. He could grasp enough to answer those questions, finally.

'_Is my love for Kiba more than that for a friend? Do I want to be more than his friend?'_

Yes.

It was…and yes.

He did.


	26. Four, Six, Eight!

_So fast? Yeah, well…today was a four day weekend for me…and I finished most of my homework and the remaining homework I do have I plan to do on Monday…and I just got to writing Friday night and it just…continued…and now you've got yourself this chapter. I barely did any work on this chapter in terms of editing, so if there are major errors, please let me know. I'm too scatter-brained right now to do anything._

_But yeah…don't expect an update for a while, since I have college and everything…and I've just gotten a great idea for another fic. It's going to be the ABC's of Kiba. I got a prompt from each letter of the alphabet and am going to be making twenty-six one-shots for it. It all centers around Kiba. Most of it may wind up being ShinoKiba, but not all of them will have a pairing, and some of them will have different pairings. (NaruKiba; KanKiba; ShikaKiba; (that I know of so far) it'll depend on my mood in the one-shot. I know the first one-shot won't involve a pairing at all. Here's a spoiler for ya: The prompt is Alien, and revolves around just the members of Team Eight. Hmmm…)_

_Alright…so…remember in the last chapter when I said Kidoumaru really should be a gamer…? Well…here we go. This takes place immediately after Kiba leaves Shino and Shino comes to that realization in the last chapter._

_And remember (if you read my grumblings in the A/N note last chapter) when I said I wasn't a gamer? Yeah. It's very obvious in this one. I wrote this chapter specifically so I could show Kidoumaru was a gamer, and half of it is about the differences between arachnids and my own spastic ramblings of old monster movies, minus one reference to Gears of War. I find stuff like that (old movies and the intricacies in classifying creatures) extremely interesting…but, of course, there's going to be people who hate it. The beginning of this chapter will be incredibly boring to those of you who do._

_I will say this–it's also incredibly obvious what I grew up watching. Half of the old movie shit in this is a reflection of my childhood days watching movies with my Dad._

_Anyway…since I know it's boring…I decided to give you all an early gift. Because I know why everyone clicked on this story in the first place._

_Enjoy. (It's not exactly work safe, just so you know.)_

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 26_

Kidoumaru threw the door open to the bar, making his way to the counter. As he did, the wheels in his mind ground to a halt and he actually stopped, staring at the man having a drink at his designated spot. That messy hair, those shoulders. He knew those well, having had stared at them for so long. What the hell… That fuck was back in town? According to Kiba the other night, this was the reason why he hadn't befriended him earlier in high school. He was certain if Kiba had joked about his spiders they would've gone along with it willingly, both of the brothers being absolute pranksters. But still…it never happened, and it was because Sakon had made Kiba think he was jealous of him.

He _was_ jealous of Sakon, but Sakon jealous of him? Ha! The entire time during high school, he'd watched them. The two were distant during school, but on the way home from school they opened up to each other more. Or…Kiba had opened up. Sakon had just pushed him away and continued talking to his brother, coming up with a plan or two to cause trouble.

"Hey, Spiderman…I thought I'd find you here…"

He spun around to see Kiba standing there at the door. His head whipped around back to the bar, where Sakon was still staring at his beer. He pursed his lips together, looked between the two. What to do…? Show off in front of Kiba…or get him away from Sakon?

The latter seemed more pressing considering how upset Kiba had been when he last saw him–even he could see in the brunette's eyes that there was something broken about him, no matter how confident he'd seemed when he was flirting with him. Kidoumaru grabbed Kiba's arm, smiling.

"Hey, Kiba. Why don't we go out to eat or something?"

Kiba frowned, nodding his head regardless. "I already ate dinner, but alright…"

"Then…we can just take a walk…"

"Alright. That's okay, too. I actually was wondering…um…could I spend the night at your house tonight?"

Kidoumaru pushed him out the door as Sakon finally turned to look back casually, and he slammed the door shut before anyone could see who it was. He sighed, staring at the man through the window for a split second, meeting his eyes–why did Sakon look so vulnerable and anxious for once?–, before he turned back to Kiba, who looked slightly hurt.

"What was that push for?"

"I just…didn't want the people in the bar hearing me say I wanted you to spend the night with me."

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "…But you openly admitted to them that you were the one I was with when they all discovered I was gay and my Dad blew up… You can't deny it. Kimimaro told me all about it."

He threw caution to the wind, hoping the reason Sakon _and_ Ukon had started to avoid Kiba their senior year was because Kiba had been the one to break it off. If that were the case, there was a smaller chance that Kiba would've harbored feelings for that bastard. "Sakon was in there."

Kiba smiled. "Oh…well, thank you for trying to get me out of there. I'd expected you to offer to buy me a drink, so I wondered why you weren't…" He looked down at the concrete, shifting a little. "…I…just wanted someone to talk to… Someone to help me forget about…everything…" He turned his eyes back at Kidoumaru slowly, that slight shyness rushing to the surface. "…You don't mind?"

Kidoumaru smiled, putting an arm around his shoulder and leading him back in the direction in his house. "Not at all. I think I'd enjoy having someone over there for a while. It's been pretty lonely after I moved out of my parents' house… To be honest…at the time I told you it was experimentation, I was at ends with my parents and for them to discover anything… I just… Well, my mother didn't mind, but my father did. He died, and I moved out of the house, became more open about my sexuality…"

Kiba stared at the street, walking, his chest tightening. "So…you aren't…close with her anymore?"

"…Oh…I am. I visit her every day and make sure she's taken care of. I mean, her upper body strength is good and all, but she still has trouble getting stuff from the cabinets over the sink, so sometimes she'll call me up and I have to go and get them out for her. She has trouble leaving the house, too, so I still drive her around places when I have free time from work."

"You work…at the gas station, right?"

"No. That was shortly out of high school. Now I am the manager of the computer store on the outskirts of town. It's pretty neat. Much better than doing strictly inventory like at the beginning."

"…The first time I actually took notice of you was back in freshman year, when I saw you at the grocery store with your Mom. Despite the fact that she could do it herself, you refused to let her push her own wheel chair…and you had all of the bags on your arms. At first I thought it was weird…but around Junior year, I kept seeing you there, doing the same thing, with this big smile on your face like you enjoyed every minute of it. I thought… 'This guy takes care of his mother so, so, so much. He must have the biggest heart in the world.' The next day I saw you with those glass cases for your spiders, walking into the school for a project or something, and then those guys knocked them out of your hands and started stepping on the spiders as they tried to get away…and I got really angry…" He frowned. "I just…I _still_ don't understand how someone can just…hate someone that much. And for no reason, too."

"It's because I'm arrogant."

Kiba looked over at Kidoumaru, and the man nodded, shrugging his shoulders in a very casual way, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah. I'm arrogant, and I think I'm better than everyone around me. I made straight A's in science class and on more than one occasion those guys asked to borrow my notes and I told them I didn't loan them out to people who were too stupid to take their own in class. I expected them to do something like that if I brought my spiders to school, but I did anyway."

Kiba looked down at the ground, frowning a little. "…Why did you?"

He shrugged. "…I don't know, honestly. All I knew was that you'd be getting there around the same time I was that day and I knew those guys would try something. I guess I just wanted to see if you'd stick up for me."

Something settled at the pit of his stomach, something like fear and disbelief all at once. So…Kimimaro had been right. Kidoumaru wasn't as helpless as he made himself look…and he'd fallen for it. He stepped out of Kidoumaru's grasp. "W…We all thought you started liking me _after_ that incident… When did…When did you _actually_ start liking me?"

"You didn't know? I figured you probably wouldn't have noticed… Our house is _right_ behind yours, Kiba. I started liking you ever since I saw you running around out back with your dog… I think her name was…Kaede or something? You were always having lunch with your parents out back, too, and your mother would make something at the grill. Ever since elementary school, I liked you and wanted to get to know you."

Kiba froze. "E-Elementary school? Earlier today you said _high school_. W-W-Why the hell would you lie about that?"

"I just…" He frowned a little, rubbing the back of his head. "I thought it'd creep you out…and it's creeping you out right now…so…maybe I shouldn't have said anything…" He stared at the ground beneath him, face growing redder and redder each moment that passed. After a while, he shifted his weight on each leg, swaying back and forth anxiously.

The brunette just stared at him, the fear evident on his face. Kidoumaru glanced at him and rubbed at his arm a little nervously again, taking a few steps back. "You don't…have to come to my house if you're scared of me… You…You don't even have to…er…love me anymore…" He took a deep breath, rubbing at his warm cheeks a little. "Just…uh…just as long as I know you _did_ love me at one point is good enough…"

Kiba shook his head a little, trying to wrap his head around that word–elementary. He looked up at Kidoumaru, his eyes crinkling at the bottoms, in near disgust. "You…you were _attracted_ to me in _elementary_ school? You wanted to be with me in _elementary_ school??"

"No! That's what I was afraid you thought!" His lips split into a sheepish grin. "That's not how it was at all. I just wanted to be your friend…but I couldn't express myself. Every time I tried to talk to you I'd get tongue-tied and anxious and run away before even approaching you. That's how I was with everyone, so for the longest time that's all I thought of it…but then I hit puberty and started getting _dreams_, and I realized that couldn't have just been it…so… Well, I officially realized I wanted you in _eighth_ grade, so it wasn't too far off when I said high school… But before then, I always had a soft spot for you… See what I'm saying? I mean…surely it was the same for you with Sakon…r…right? You guys had been friends for years and all…" He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the man in front of him nervously, hoping he'd relax and be okay with it.

Kiba also shoved his hands in his pockets, nodding his head a little. "Yeah…that's…that's how it was with Sakon, too…" He finally looked back at Kidoumaru. "I understand, now. It's alright, I'm not upset or anything anymore. I just…needed that cleared up. So…where do you live now?"

"Come on. I'll take you there."

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Kiba walked in the door as Kidoumaru closed the door behind him and locked it, despite the fact that the town was nearly devoid of day-to-day crime, being the size it was and where it was located. The house was fairly empty, just like Shino's, but Kiba had a feeling it wasn't because he didn't have anything to fill it with like with the other man. The way some things out in the hall were pushed away from the wall made it seem more like Kidoumaru did it to keep the number of crevices for spiders to hide in as low as possible, in case they escaped or something. He stepped down the hall, into the living room directly in front of him. There were rows and rows of those glass cases along the wall, all sitting neatly on a shelf, above the couch. His jaw dropped, staring at the size of some of them and the sheer amount on the shelves. There were come cases that were tiny and some that looked like aquariums. He turned his head to see a few scorpions on the other wall.

He stuttered, pointing at them. "S-_Scorpions_??"

Kidoumaru nodded, looking at them proudly and putting his hands on his hips as he walked over beside him. "Yep. Scorpions are also in the class Arachnida. I don't like them much; spiders have always been my favorite, but scorpions are in the same class, so it's like they're cousins or something, don't you think?"

"Got any daddy longlegs?"

Kidoumaru smiled to himself, putting his hand over his forehead and looking down a little, as if he was embarrassed to be explaining anything to him or sounding like a smartass. Or maybe it was that childish name for them… Kiba was just like he was back when he was a kid; it was like he'd never changed at all. "Which kind? There's the order Opiliones and the family Pholcidae in the order Araneae that are referred to as daddy longlegs…"

Kiba walked over to one, where there was a spider with really long, spindly legs walking around nearly-moist earth, a little bit of water in one corner. The arachnid was almost a complete oval, save for the mouth. He pointed to it. "This one. The one that looks like a tripod-thing from the show _Johnny Quest_."

Kidoumaru walked over toward him, smiling at his way of describing it. "Opiliones. Yeah. You find those walking around the drain pipes of houses. Those are actually called harvestmen. Pholcidae are referred to as cellar spiders since they hang out in cellars and in places like caves. So…try to call them either harvestmen or cellar spiders in the future so I know what you're talking about."

"…What's the difference?"

Kidoumaru pointed to that one Kiba had pointed to. "A harvestman's body is an oval. The two body segments are nearly all connected, so it looks like an oval. In the family Pholcidae, the body segments look more separated, like two actual segments as opposed to one." He pointed to another that was yellow and mildly see-through a few cases down. The legs were the same, but, just like he'd said, it was very obvious there were two separate body segments. It looked like a peanut with legs or something. "See the difference now?"

Kiba nodded his head, and Kidoumaru grabbed the grey one from the order Opiliones, the tripod-looking one. He opened the case, letting it crawl onto his finger, and placed it on Kiba's shoulder. Kiba stared at it, letting it go so far as to crawl all the way to the tip of his nose before he finally frowned, staring at Kidoumaru. "So…what was the point of this?"

Kidoumaru laughed and picked up the spider again, placing it back in its case and depositing it back on the shelf. "You didn't freak out."

"Of course not. Daddy longlegs can't bite hard enough to pierce human skin." He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes turning to one of the glass cases on the opposite wall that looked completely empty, despite the fact it was filled with thin blades of grass suspended in soil. He pointed at it. "What's that?"

The expert followed his finger, turning to look at the glass case, and smiled. "Oh! Yeah. You probably wouldn't see anything in that. That one contains two deer ticks. I know it's dangerous and that they can carry Lyme disease, but they _are_ in the same class as spiders and scorpions, so I had to add one to my collection. The same goes with mites, though I don't collect them."

"Why not?"

Kidoumaru laughed, nudging Kiba a little, playfully. "You serious? Some mites attach onto the _legs_ of _bees_. They're too small to just _collect_, and most are parasitic or depend on other organisms to survive. They can't just live in a glass case. Even the ticks I'm starting give up on. I have to replace them constantly because they need another organism to continue living for a great extended period of time. Why do you think I had to start getting two at once? If one dies, I have a chance that the other will survive a bit longer to delay needing to get a new one."

"Where did you get all of these bugs, though?"

"…They aren't _bugs_, Kiba. They are _arachnids_. _Please_ stop confusing the two. It's getting tiring have to explain it to you every time I speak with you about them… But, about that…" He scratched his head, frowning a bit. "It's hard to keep most of these as pets. The ones that make better pets are tarantulas and scorpions. I usually buy those from stores, unless they're rare. Like the Black Emperor Scorpions. I had to order those online. The first was dead in the mail, so I had to order a new one. Then I ordered another one and they get along pretty well. Did you know they are actually social creatures? They live together as if in little communities in the wild." He laughed. "But yeah, it depends on the species, really. Most of these I found around outside while hiking and stuff, except for the ones that don't live around here or are able to be bought in a store. The ones I order online are carefully ordered during seasons they work best in. For instance, _Phoneutria nigriventer_–" He pointed to one case at the very end of the row, directly beside Kiba. "–I ordered during the summer because it's used to a tropical climate and wouldn't do well in cold. It's the newest addition. I keep it lower on the shelf so I can keep an eye on it. It's really neat. When angered, its jaws actually _turn _red."

Kiba turned to look at it, and nearly screamed out loud at not only the size of its legs and scarlet red jaws, but also the way it was trying to find a way out of its case. He shuddered violently. "Wh-_WH-__**WHY!?**_ Wh-Why do you have to keep an eye on it?? Because it might get out!?"

"Because it's the most poisonous spider in the world, idiot. That's the Brazilian Wandering Spider. Haven't you heard the stories? It sneaks over here in banana crates. I keep all the poisonous ones within eye range so I can keep an eye on them and make sure if they get out or not so I know not to leave a door open for them to escape outside, and _especially_ so I know not to put my shoes on, get into bed or use the bathroom without checking first if they do happen to escape from their cages." Kidoumaru smiled and shrugged his shoulders like there was nothing wrong with having deadly creatures–which, by the way he made it sound, had already escaped on more than one occasion–in his house.

Kiba took about five steps back, bumping into a large aquarium sitting on the floor near the television and screaming out loud at the sensation on the back of his leg. Kidoumaru pulled him out of the way and steadied the case, frowning a little. He paled when he inspecting it.

"Ah shit…she got out."

"What got out!?"

"Dorothy… I don't know how, but she did… She can be pretty reckless, though… She's the one most notorious for escaping, aside from Mary Tyler Moore…one of my scorpions…" He smiled fondly. "But Dorothy was always my favorite. I've had her for three years… I've experimented on her, too. Once I stopped feeding her for the longest time. I got two months and she didn't even die; she only became much less active and stored it all away. Tarantulas are pretty hardy creatures. They make better pets than anything else, in my opinion."

Kiba nodded his head, turning toward the giant spider that looked smart and angry enough to actually knock its cage over and escape–the really poisonous one. He smiled weakly, going pale. "Uh…I don't…I don't feel comfortable in this room…"

Kidoumaru turned to him, his amusement replaced by disappointment. "You don't want to watch a movie or anything? I've got a pretty good collection…"

Kiba forced himself to relax a little bit, shrugging his shoulders. "Um…alright…uh…where are they…?"

Kidoumaru nodded his head toward a bookshelf by the television. "Right there. Just look through it. I can recommend some if you want…"

"That's alright. I'll see if I see anything I like first…"

With that said, he turned to the bookshelf, surprised to see quite a few anthologies on insects and arachnids and different kinds of arthropods–crustaceans, too!?–on the first two shelves. He smiled a little, snickering. Sure…arachnids weren't insects. They weren't bugs…so why did he have an interest in bugs anyway? His eyes fell to the shelf with movies on them. Quite a few were VHS tapes, but there were many DVD's as well–some even copies of the VHS tapes. Godzilla movies, Gamera movies, Mothra movies–he resisted the urge to ask if these were Kidoumaru's favorite in the Japanese monster genre; he knew what the answer would be–, King Kong movies, one named _Tarantula_ he remembered pretty vividly as a child, _Them!_—he knew that one was about giant ants mutated by radiation, much like most of the giant creature films of that era–, _Reptilicus_…and so many more that seemed to revolve around giant creatures on a rampage. _Mimic_? That movie was about mutated ro…r-roa…_bugs_ killing people and growing to be the size of full-grown humans. He'd watched it before…but did it seriously have _two_ sequels? _The Black Scorpion_? Didn't that one have cowboys in it?

A few caught his eye as having potential to enjoy with Kidoumaru, though:

_Bug_, _Kingdom of the Spiders_, _Arachnophobia_, _Mosquito_,_ Ticks _and _Squirm_.

He looked at all of them, and Kidoumaru stared at him for the longest time. Finally, the man reached over and grabbed the one called _Squirm_. He smiled at Kiba, going to the television and popping it into the DVD player. "Let's watch this one. It's probably one of my favorite B-rated movies aside from _Ticks_. But a dog dies in _Ticks_, and you probably wouldn't like that, would you?"

Kiba shook his head, and Kidoumaru nodded his head. "I didn't think so. Go sit on the couch. You want some popcorn or something?"

He looked back at Kiba as he shook his head and Kidoumaru nodded again. He started it up and sat back, Kiba staring at the screen for the longest time. "…What is it about?"

"Killer worms."

"…W-Worms? Why _worms_?" He already had a feeling this movie wouldn't help him forget at all.

"Because it just is. You don't question the thought behind the writer of a bad movie like this. You just go along with it, Kiba. Sheesh. Now watch. The acting's terrible, they use spaghetti for the swarms of worms, and did I mention it makes fun of hicks?"

Kiba forced a smile, trying his hardest to keep his mind from wandering. Kidoumaru had leaned over quite far, putting an arm around his shoulder. He turned a bit red, slightly disgusted by this act of affection. Sure, he liked being close to someone as much as the next person…but watching a movie with Kidoumaru's arm around his shoulder made him feel too much like a girl. And it wasn't like with Shino, either. Shino hadn't intentionally grabbed him by the shoulders and leaned all over him… Wait, why the hell was he thinking about Shino at a time like this? Because of what he'd told him an hour ago? Why couldn't he just focus on the person next to him, even if he didn't care about him as much as the person miles away?

His eyes adjusted to the screen, where a total gorilla man was looking through a truck full of empty boxes. He pointed at the screen. "Wait, who's that?"

"Roger, the worm farmer's son. His mother died recently, and he's got a thing for Geri, the redhead. He helps out his Dad at the farm and is pretty much an asshole. Not to mention he has the dashing good looks of a typical inbred redneck. In other words–he looks and acts exactly like a butt."

Kiba's insides twisted and he stood. "Um…can…can we _not_ watch this?"

Kimimaro stared at him, his face falling. "Why not? Is it really that bad? I have better ones…"

"No, it's not bad or anything…it's just…" He fought for words, knowing full well if he explained it to Kidoumaru the man would figure out he wasn't in love with him at all. "…N-Nevermind…just…why did he have to be a worm-farmer's son with a dead mother? _And_ have deep brown hair? _And_ be incredibly tall??" He sat down, back into Kidoumaru's arms and stared at the screen, not even watching it.

"If there's something wrong with Roger, it's alright. He turns into worm food at the end. They crawl under his skin and burrow into his brain. And then he comes back and gets pushed into a giant pile of worms that devour his entire body. It's wonderful. I clap every time I watch it."

Kiba stood up, putting a hand to his head and biting his lip. "Just…Just _shut up_! I just…damn it, Kidoumaru. I really…just came over here to forget about everything back home, not to have it slammed right into my face by a really _bad_ movie! This is a fucking joke someone is pulling on me!!" He tugged at his hair and Kidoumaru stood, immediately going and turning off the video. He watched Kiba very closely before he turned off the television and grabbed his hand.

"Come on. Let me show you my room. We can find something to do in there."

–––––––––––––––––––––

The bedroom, much like the hallway, had all of the furniture pushed away from the walls a little bit. Kiba stared at all of the boxes and cabinets piled up, all of them labeled differently. He glanced at Kidoumaru, frowning a little. "You have _two_ televisions? Why is the better television in here rather than in the living room?"

Kidoumaru smiled, pointing to the some five video game consoles he had sitting on a shelf the television was set on top of. "It's my gaming television of course. Currently I'm trying to beat Gears of War for the fourth time, since none of the games released this year were enough to capture my interest for longer than the first level. I have a few melee games if you want to play… I have Clash of Ninja…"

Kiba stared at all of it, frowning a little. "Er…you like video games?"

He nodded his head fervently, going over and turning on the Wii. "Hell yeah, I do. What? Do I just look like the book-type of nerd?"

He smiled sheepishly in response, nodding his head. "…Yeah. You sort of do. Video games were more of a thing Sakon and Ukon did a lot… I'm surprised. You really would've gotten along with them. Why don't you get along with Ukon still?"

"Because I'm arrogant, that's why. I look down on him and he looks down on me. It's that simple."

Kiba frowned a little, going and standing next to him. "I wish…you two got along… Could you try to get along with him…for me?" He stared at the ground the whole time, wearing that same pitiful expression he'd been wearing before they got back to the house and during that movie. Kidoumaru watched him for a split second before he reached over and grabbed his hand bringing it toward him and holding it against his cheek.

"Tell me."

Kiba looked up at him, avoiding his eyes and staring at his nose instead. He shook his head, biting his lip, and Kidoumaru glared.

"If you loved me, you'd tell me why you're so upset."

Kiba's insides churned, and his bottom lip started to tremble. A lump caught in his throat, and he forced the words out as best as he could, his voice shaking, almost a whisper. "I…just… I…" He looked back down, that lump locking his jaw in place, keeping him from saying anything.

Kidoumaru grabbed his chin, forcing him to turn his head toward him, though it couldn't force the other man to stare him in the eye. They met for a split second before Kiba's lower lids crinkled up and he looked away, his entire body starting to tremble. Kidoumaru let go of his hand and the brunette immediately brought it to his chest instinctively. He waved his hand at him. "Just…go sit on the bed. I'll sleep on the couch, or something."

Kiba didn't budge, and the man just clenched his fist, his voice shaking with anger. "You get upset from something back at your place; you search me out; when you finally have me all to yourself to _talk_ like you wanted…" He threw his hands up in the air, leaning toward him, eyes glowering. "You don't even want to do _that_!! I don't read minds, Kiba! You either tell me what's wrong or you keep it inside and suffer!"

"…help me…"

Kiba's voice was so quiet and full of pain, it caught the man off-guard. All of his anger left him in a flourish and it felt like a punch to the chest. He watched as the man he'd looked up to for so long as being bright and energetic and strong and optimistic crumbled right in front of him, all of the insecurities and doubt he'd always imagined existed in Kiba but never surfaced blooming right before his very eyes like some kind of abysmal flower. His face fell instantly, and he reached over, just barely grazing the other man's skin, only to watch him flinch as if he was injured.

He turned around, rubbing his head and turning off the game console. This…wasn't what he expected Kiba to ever become at a low point. He glanced back at him over his shoulder for a quick moment before he looked back at the floor. He took a deep breath, his chest heavy.

"I…I don't know _how_, Kiba… Just…I've never seen you like this, ever… You weren't even like this when I walked by and spotted you in the church crying like a baby over your mother… I always thought you weren't as strong as you appeared…but I didn't think you were _this_ fragile…"

Kiba just shook in response, and everything fell into place.

Kidoumaru finally turned to him, testing out this state. He stared at him for the longest time, appraising his body language, until he grabbed his arms and threw them to the man's side. They instantly retracted back to his chest, and Kidoumaru finally reached over, pulling him in a tight hug. The man he was hugging went completely limp, and his heart sank.

He dragged him over to the bed, laying Kiba down there, and stood, leaving the room. For the longest time he just stood in the living room, staring at all of his spiders, scorpions, the deer ticks. He frowned, looking over at the movie selection, staring at them. Something definitely triggered this. He hadn't been the same since; he'd been upset when he ran into him at the bar…but this was a whole new level of upset.

What set him off? What was the trigger? There had to be _something_…

He picked up his copy of Squirm, staring at it, mind traveling back to that moment in time, going through it step-by-step until it finally hit him.

Roger.

It was definitely something to do with Roger. But what?

The only thing he could think of was the fact that Roger's mother had died recently. Just like Kiba's. He went cold as those words hit him. A worm farmer's son with a dead mother…who had deep brown hair…and was very tall. There was only one man he knew Kiba had any sort of relationship with that matched that description–deep brown hair and being really tall–and that was the same man he'd spoken with around lunch, the same man that called him a pest.

Damn it. He _knew_ Kiba loved that guy…

He walked back into the room and sat down on the bed, watching Kiba sob into his hands pathetically.

He was weak.

He was vulnerable.

It was disgusting, quite frankly. He had absolutely no desire to try and comfort him; and even if he did, he had no idea how he'd go about doing that. He put a hand on Kiba's arm, voice rigid.

"…Do you know why I love you, Kiba?"

Kiba paused for a brief moment, only to shake his head.

"It's because you had everything I didn't. You had charisma; you had compassion for everyone you came in contact with; you cared deeply for your friends and family; you were talkative; you had friends, talent, a charming personality; you had an older sister, and…you had parents. I wanted that. I looked up to you for having all of those things… I wanted to be your friend because of that. I wanted to be with you because of that."

"…you…" Kiba finally sat up, staring at him and trying to keep the tears from falling again. "You _did_ have parents…"

"I _did_ until I was born. Then my mother decided she didn't want me, so I went to the people who lived behind you. …That's why I was at ends with them a year ago before you left. Because they decided to wait until they got sick of me living at their house before they told me." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You know what you do to hide your insecurities? You close yourself up. You know what I do?"

He waited until Kiba took a hint and shook his head. "…what?"

"I lie. You know my father? He's not the one who died. He's not the one that was understanding when he found out I was gay. He's just the one that kicked me out of the house in disgust because he couldn't deal with me, my mother's death, or the fact that I was gay. You think you had it so bad with your father…" He laughed, looking up at the ceiling. "When I came out of the closet, your dad walked right up to me and shook my hand. He said I had more guts than you for coming right out and saying it. He respected me and my life-style, Kiba. He didn't kick you out of the house because you were gay, he did it because you were leeching off their resources. What I wouldn't give to have gotten that treatment from my own father, biological or otherwise. That's why that fucker Sakon liked your Dad so much and left town after he died. He couldn't stand being in this town; they already hated him enough because he was a complete crackhead and was starting to look for even heavier drugs. Even though he barely spoke to me other than the occasional 'fuck off', I gathered that much from him. You really have no right to complain about your problems."

Kiba stared at him, his face changing into concern rather than a reflection of how much he'd been breaking up inside before. "…I'm so sorry Kidoumaru…I had no idea…"

Kidoumaru narrowed his eyes. "I'm not crying like a pussy over my mother, nor am I crying like a pussy over my father, or my biological parents, or even over the fact that if Sakon hadn't been around, I probably would've had a chance with you."

Kiba frowned. "…But you do have a chance with me. I'm here with you now…"

"No you're not." He shook his head, looking away bitterly. "You're back home, back wherever Roach is, back reliving whatever the hell it is that he said to you or did that set you off and made you run off. And it doesn't matter if you wind up living here for the next week or so, because in the end, that's still where you'll be. Back with _him_."

When Kiba made a soft squeak as his breathing slowed to a stop, Kidoumaru looked back at him. He didn't even need to ask if he was right: it was obvious he was by the way Kiba was staring off into space, his face falling, his eyes crinkling at the bottoms. He finally looked down, staring at his feet resting in front of him.

"that's…that's why i need your help, kidoumaru… i'm tired of being there… the more I stay, the more…" He closed his eyes and shook his head. After a short moment, he took three deep breaths and looked back at Kidoumaru, his eyes determined, his face set.

"Fuck me."

The man was caught off-guard once again and he had to process those words for the longest time. At first, he'd mistaken it for a Sakon-ism and assumed he'd told him to go fuck himself…but this wasn't Sakon–this was Kiba. Kiba wanted him to fuck him. To help him forget. He winced a little.

"…Not like this, Kiba. You'll regret it."

"I'll regret it if I let you talk me out of it. So do it. Fuck me. Do you prefer being on the receiving end? I'll top if it comes to that."

Kidoumaru's lips pursed together, and he looked down at the ground for the longest time. "It's…not like I can just fuck you right on the spot like this. I'm not in the mood… I just witnessed you crumble right in front of me and–"

Kiba grabbed for him, knocking him on the chest so he fell backwards onto the bed, and undid the button of his jeans, unzipped his pants. Kidoumaru gasped a little, completely unsure how to handle a sudden change like this. Where the hell had all of this strength come from? The brunette yanked the pants down as best as he could. Then, he grabbed the other man's cock and rubbed his finger against the tip in a circle.

Kidoumaru instantly hardened and Kiba removed his hand, leaning back into the pillow and growling lowly. "There. You're in the mood. Fuck my brains out." Kidoumaru sat up, his breathing quickening. He paused for a split second, and that single second caused the brunette to reach over and fist his shirt, their eyes locking.

"_Now_," he demanded.

Kidoumaru didn't have to hear it twice, and he pushed Kiba back into the pillow, grabbing the open, button-down t-shirt he'd pulled over a wife-beater and yanking it off. He reached his hands up the wife-beater, his fingers dancing over Kiba's abs as the brunette let out a moan. He pulled the shirt up farther, leaning down and teasing a nipple with his tongue. Kiba moaned a little louder, hands grabbing for something to hold onto on the shirt Kidoumaru was still wearing uselessly.

As Kidoumaru continued licking down the length of his body, Kiba's hands went up, fisting his shaggy black hair. He undid the button of Kiba's jeans, unzipped the zipper and yanked his pants off. There was a tent in his boxers, and as Kidoumaru pulled those off, Kiba fisted his hair tighter and let out a sigh at the sensation of fabric against flesh.

He stared at the manhood in front of him for the second time ever, and fought the urge to smile. There he was–back again with Kiba, the situation the same except without alcohol involved. His eyes eyed that leg, desperately wanting a piece of that first. He leaned down, kissing Kiba's inner thigh, toward his knee. Kiba hummed a little at the situation, and Kidoumaru looked back up at him. His eyes were closed, and he looked desperate–it was _so_ sexy. He bent down again and licked up Kiba's inner thigh again, and Kiba's grip on his hair clenched and unclenched in response, biting his lip and whining a little bit.

He kissed up his thigh some more, Kiba whining all the while, desperately wanting him to take him in his mouth or something, and finally he licked up to the base of the penis. The brunette shuddered, his legs trembling desperately. Kidoumaru grinned, licking up his shaft and hearing Kiba groan.

He circled the tip of the penis with his tongue, and Kiba gasped. He finally took him in his mouth, and wound up nearly choking as Kiba shoved his face down farther and faster than he'd intended–the brunette was never one to wait. He coughed, lifting his head up a bit and glaring up at the man. His eyes were closed and he was biting his lip–there was no way he was even thinking about him at the moment; Kidoumaru knew it.

He pushed that thought to the back of his mind and let it fester as he sucked lightly, earning another moan from the brunette. He moved his head up and down slowly, keeping an eye on Kiba's face as he did so. After a while he sped up, making sure to graze his tongue against the tip as he did. Kiba's breathing turned into breathy pants, and his fingers scratched against his head desperately.

When he could feel the brunette's self-control slipping, coming to a climax, he grazed his teeth against him lightly, slipping his finger into his entrance. Kiba came in his mouth, letting out a strangled moan, and Kidoumaru choked a little. He spit it out all over him and coughed, sitting up finally. Kiba looked down at himself in disgust, finally looking up at him, eyes open. "Ever heard of swallowing?"

He wiped whatever was left on his face off, clearing his throat a little, trying to find his center to properly answer that question. "Uh…well…I have no lube…so…we're going to have to improvise."

Kiba's jaw dropped in horror, and Kidoumaru stared at him, puzzled. "What? It's not that bad…"

Kiba swore, backing into the pillow, eyes wide with terror. "Oh my God! Oh my God, what the _fuck_ is that!?"

Something dropped off Kidoumaru's head, landing directly on Kiba's stomach. Kiba screeched, staring at the big, red-orange creature hissing and going crazy on his belly. It was bright red-orange and very big, with an iridescent green-blue on the underside of its legs. On its back were grooves of brown, and it looked _pissed_ _off_.

Kidoumaru's face brightened. "Oh! That's where you were, Dorothy! What's the matter, girl?? You jealous!?" He reached for the creature, but it skittered away from him and sunk its fangs into the brunette's side. Kiba howled, knocking her off of him and shouting loudly.

The tarantula landed in the doorway, and the second it hit the ground it dashed off down the hall, toward the bathroom. Kidoumaru swore, running after it. "Shit! Where the hell do you think you're going!? Get back in your cage!"

The second he left, Kiba took a look at his side, wincing at the circular bite mark that looked puffy. He took a deep breath, sighing and tossing his head back into the pillow. At least tarantulas weren't poisonous to humans. He wiped his hand over his face, his lips pressing into a tight line. Everything had been going great; it was incredible, but now he felt so guilty he could die.

He scratched at his belly, surprised it was itchy. He looked down at it, staring at the beginnings of a rash. Hell. What was he going to tell Hana if she saw that? The bite alone was enough to tell her exactly where he'd been all night…

He bit his lip, covering his head with his hands, groaning. He wasn't even in the mood anymore, and he didn't think there was anything that could get him back in the mood, unless Kidoumaru offered to put some ointment on his belly and give him a massage first.

He heard banging in the other room, sharp thuds that echoed and reverberated off the walls. At one point, Kidoumaru shouted, "Ah shit! Get back here, Doro– shit!" _Thud!_ "Ah, Kramer! Don't you use that to your advantage! Stay back in your cage unless you want me shoving you in with Isaac!"

After much bouncing and bumping and curses and banging on the walls, Kidoumaru finally walked back in, pulling at his shirt a little. He'd yanked his pants up to avoid tripping as he dashed after Dorothy, but now he was starting to take them off again. Kiba watched him for a moment, then rolled over toward the window.

"…S…Sorry about that. Dorothy's…sort of like one of those psycho ex-girlfriends you see in movies…"

Kiba bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "…Or like Karin…"

"Hmmm? Who's that?"

"Some woman from work. She used to date Shino, but then she broke up with him. She still calls him, acting like he's completely in love with her when they can barely stand to be in the same room… She's as psychotic as they come…"

Kidoumaru opened his mouth to ask something, but then he closed it. …Shino was…_straight_? He could've sworn by the look in his eyes he harbored feelings for Kiba… Huh… That was so weird… Maybe he'd read the signs wrong? Those eyes were definitely clear in their meaning, though. It was obvious he had to have…

"What is she? Dorothy?"

His face brightened. "Oh, Dorothy! Yes. Well, she's probably the most special of all of my tarantulas. She's called an Usambara. It's still debatable as to whether her kind is a completely different species or simply a colour hybrid of a pre-existing species in the Usambara region in Kenya. Interesting, huh?"

"…Are they…are all of…her kind…that pissy?"

"Pretty much. They're pretty aggressive, much like the Brazilian Wandering Spider. I'm thinking about breeding them together to see what happens… Of course, they might wind up killing each other first…but the Brazilian Wandering Spider has been known to mate with tarantulas in the wild…so it might work… Hmmm…"

Kiba finally turned around to him, taking his wife-beater off. He frowned. "I'm getting a rash…"

Kidoumaru looked at it, rubbing the back of his head. "Ah…yeah. It's from the hair on her body. She's practically bald, though, since she's so old…but yeah. It's a defense mechanism."

Kiba's eyes glowered. "Or a fucking _weapon_ in her case…"

"Come on now, Kiba. She was probably just jealous I was giving you more attention than her. That's why she gets out of her cage."

He glared, crossing his arms over his chest. "Then you can fuck _her_ instead, can't you?"

He frowned, going over and sitting down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "Don't get pissy, Kiba. Let's just continue where we left off… I managed to gather them all up and put them back in their cages, so we won't have another of those interruptions."

"Hell no. Your spider just _attacked_ me and I'm having an itch and a bite mark that if my sister sees she'll surely know I was with you tonight."

"…You ashamed? Or is it really your _sister_ you don't want seeing this? It's not…say…_Shino_, is it? It's a _rash_, Kiba. Aside from that spider bite, there's no way of telling it was me. You could have rolled around in poison ivy or something. None of the people at your house are experts on rashes; they wouldn't know."

He groaned, scratching his belly pathetically. "But it _itches_, Kidoumaru! I can't focus on anything right now!"

The man rolled his eyes, leaning down and placing his lips against the brunette's neck. He kissed down it, finally down to the collarbone, completely ignoring the scar since he'd seen it before. Kiba started to melt again, and he finally placed a hand on his inner thigh, stroking it with his thumb as he nipped his nipple lightly. Kiba gasped, and Kidoumaru went back to his mouth, pressing for entrance.

When Kiba allowed it, he slid his tongue into his mouth, wrestling with the other man's tongue for a moment, probing deep in every corner of his mouth. Kiba moaned, and he pulled back.

Seeing that the sperm he'd spit out earlier was useless, he gathered up some spit in his mouth and just spit it out onto his hand. He looked at Kiba's closed eyes, looking over his expression. He sighed, sliding his finger's in Kiba's hole. The man fisted the sheets, moaning out the first name all night.

"Sh-Shino…"

Kidoumaru stopped, removing his hand and groaning angrily. He'd known that was the case all along, but he couldn't go along with it if Kiba were to mention that fuck ever ten seconds. He stood, and Kiba opened his eyes finally. "Wh…What? You know already, right?"

His fist shook, and it took a lot of effort on his part to keep himself from slamming his fist onto Kiba's kneecap. "Get out."

"What? But you knew already and were already–"

"You never say his name, though, Kiba! Get the fuck out of here! I'm _this_ close to using violence against you!"

Kiba immediately stood, pulling his pants on and grabbing his shirt and undershirt off the ground. "I'm…I'm sorry, Kidoumaru…"

"Just…" He took a deep breath, putting his hands to his head and finally finding himself close to tears. "Just get the hell out. You never loved me, _ever_, and it was stupid of me to hope you ever would. So just leave."

Kiba took a step out of the hallway, his expression softening. "But…I…I did. Last year I did…but when I asked if you wanted to communicate long-distance, you told me it was just experimentation and I got over you… I _did_ love you, Kidoumaru…but…I just don't…anymore…"

The man went silent and turned to the television, turning on his X-Box 360. "…You know where the front door is. Use it. I'm sorry you're unhappy. I really am, but I can do nothing to help you."

The brunette knit his brows together, his lips pulling into a tight line on his face. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple, and he nodded. "You're right. But, still…we…could have had a chance if you had–"

"You still would've moved to the city and met Shino."

Kiba nodded his head again and left, shutting the door behind him. As he walked down the street to find his way to Kimimaro's house, he took a deep breath and finally found it in him to smile. Well…it wasn't the perfect way for things to go down…but at least this was out of the way. His face fell, and he sighed.

Only now that he'd had all of that cleared up, he was forced to remember what Shino had said to him. He hadn't forgotten anything at all, and it was practically killing him. If Kimimaro failed him, he would have to resort to Deidara and Sasori. …And if they failed him…that just left the one person he'd hoped to avoid ever since he heard he was back in time.

He shuddered involuntarily, not even noticing the bastard in question pass him and knock on Kidoumaru's door some four houses down.

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba walked over, very tired, to the back door of Kimimaro's house. He remembered there had been a way through the fence into the backyard years ago, but his mother must've gotten someone to fix it. This time he had to jump the fence and hope no one noticed. Not that it mattered–his mother was probably asleep anyway.

As he stared up at the house, he couldn't help but remember that Sakon and Ukon were usually with him when he was staring up at that second-story window. The rest of the guys were usually at their regular spot, or, if feeling particularly daring, waiting out on the street in their cars for the four to get through the fence and hope into the cars to leave.

He smiled fondly, staring up at that window–the light was still on; Kimimaro was still awake. He grabbed a rock off the ground and chunked it at the window. Almost instantly, Kimimaro appeared at the window, staring at him with that same look on his face he always used to wear way back then–he had been expecting him.

The pale-haired man opened the window and motioned for him to stay there. He left the window, and a few moments later the back door opened up quietly. Kiba immediately went to it, and Kimimaro yanked him inside.

He had a big grin on his face–he was enjoying remembering all of those midnight pranks as much as he was. They traipsed up the stairs silently, sneaking past his mother's room–she was snoring even worse than she used to–and finally closed the door behind them when they got into his room.

Kiba immediately went to the bed, falling into it–Kimimaro's bed was always the most comfortable thing in the world, simply because his mother spoiled him so much. He looked up at the man, whispering.

"Sorry. I just…needed some place to stay for the night…"

Kimimaro nodded his head, stretching idly and yawning. "I was about to sleep, but I had just finished talking to Sakon. His memories are still shot to hell. When he learned my name and how we all met and a little bit about the rest of the people connected to us, he kept insisting _I_ was Kidoumaru. I finally pointed him in the direction of Kidoumaru's house and told him to figure out the difference for himself. He's been given more slack on that leash Ukon's kept him on."

"What do you mean?"

"He was allowed a beer today. Ukon's really strict with him, considering the fact that he's on so much shit to keep the withdrawal symptoms from doing as much damage as they could be doing. Before he knew it, after the bar he found himself at my back door, having no idea why he wanted to come here, who I was, or how he got here. I think he's relying on instinct."

"…So…" He went silent, before he finally rolled over and sat up, hugging onto one of Kimimaro's pillows tiredly. "…I was just over at Kidoumaru's house."

"I figured you were. I ran into Kidoumaru earlier today–or _yesterday_, actually–and he was really pissed off because Shino put him in his place. Or something like that. He said something about Roach knocking him down a few pegs."

"How?"

"He refused to say anything. He was pretty pissed I talked to Juugo about him. I don't know… We get along to a degree…but I still hate the ground he walks on." Kimimaro finally looked over at Kiba, taking a spot next to him on the bed. He curled up, his arms wrapping around his knees, his face turning to rest on his knees and look at Kiba at the same time. "…Ukon's not talking to me recently. I have a feeling it's because he's thinking up a way for him to get Sakon around you without you finding out about it. You should avoid the places Ukon frequents from here on out, including the hospital and the bar…"

Kiba shook his head. "You know he doesn't frequent the bar, Kim. That's bullshit."

His friend smiled lightly, chuckling. "I thought it was worth a try…"

Silence settled between them, until finally Kimimaro cleared his throat. "…It must be nice…"

Kiba turned to him. "Hmmm?"

"…Having what you have. You have a sister, you have someone you love, you have someone who loves you, you have friends back in the city, you have friends here, you have a niece or nephew on the way… Must be nice."

Kiba smiled. "You have friends here. And surely you have someone you love. Come on. You're thirty now. There must be some girl you're after…"

His friend shook his head. "My only friend I still keep in contact with is Ukon, and that's only when I'm in the hospital… The girl I was after moved away after high school so I don't really want her anymore… There was one girl at the hospital, but she's got her sights set on Ukon…so I don't really want her… Face it, Kiba, you've got a far more stunning life than me."

"Come on, Kim. You can't mean that. I mean…just look at how many people you've touched."

His friend stared at the carpet, shrugging his shoulders. "You. My mother. Juugo. …Well, with Juugo there that makes a new record, at least."

"Add Sakon in there, too. You obviously touched him or he wouldn't have wandered all the way over here. And does it really matter how stunning your life is? Isn't it good knowing you touched at least one person's life? Isn't that enough?"

"…No. I wish I could do more. But I can't, because I'm sick all the time. I can't even take an easy job like standing at the counter and selling stamps and receiving packages and putting them in the back without tiring out. When I was a kid I had every opportunity to do that and I passed it all by. And then high school rolled around and I developed this weird case of anemia and…well…you see where I am. I still haven't moved out of my mother's house… I wasn't even able to go to the community college forty minutes away in the next town over."

"Online universities. You can do those, surely."

"…Online…" He went silent for a moment, his cheeks slowly turning bright red. "…I can't believe I never thought of that… I sure would've–"

"At the time, online colleges were unheard of. Now it's possible. You can do it now. People do it all the time. Just go to an online college and do whatever you like. See what you're best suited for."

His friend smiled. "…What I like… I really like writing. I've got an idea in my head for a children's story…" He turned and looked at Kiba, that smile never leaving his face, as if he'd led him in the direction he wanted him to go in the entire time.

"You're lucky you live in the city. There's more opportunity there."

Kiba rolled his eyes, groaning and falling backwards onto the bed again. "That's an urban legend. There's not more opportunity there at all. It's all a matter of who comes out luckiest. Besides, if you lived in the city the fumes would kill you before you lasted a week… The city is highly overrated. I like it better here."

"In the end…you're going to go back to the city and leave me, Kiba. Just remember that."

"I am _not_," he growled, looking away bitterly. "There's nothing there for me."

"There's Shino, and he needs you." He smiled, scooting a little closer. "He needs you twice as much as I do, and with Sakon back, there's nothing I want more for you than to return to the city…" He bit his lip, taking Kiba's hand and nodding his head. "Trust me, Kiba. You _will_ go back to the city willingly by the end of all of this."

Kiba threw his hand away from him, standing and walking away from the bed. "Why do you always have to say things like that? Why do you have to touch me when you say those things, too? Kim, I really need to know. Are you feelings for me more than friendly? Are you _gay_?? Because you certainly act like it!"

His friend stared at him blankly, his expression never changing. "Does it matter?"

"Yes. It does. If you harbor feelings for me, I'd really like to know. It matters _a lot_."

"…Then no. I don't."

"You can't just say that."

"Say what?"

Kiba threw his hands in the air in his direction. "'Then no'! It sounds like you just lied!"

Kimimaro stood, holding his hand out passively. "Kiba, you're being too loud. You're going to wake up my mother. Just calm down. How many times do I have to say it? I'm not gay; I'm not attracted to you. I just…" He rubbed the back of his head, chuckling lightly. "I'm just over-affectionate because of how my mother raised me is all. Don't you remember the reason _why_ all of you pushed me in the pond? I came right out and gave Sakon a hug."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah. I remember. You barely knew us, so it sort of caught him off guard. I suggested pushing you in the pond to teach you a lesson and they both agreed. So…the next day I invited you out back… They waited for my signal, and I fell back on it on the last second when I realized you weren't doing it to make fun of him or anything. I touched your shoulder to get your attention again and they both took that as a 'yes' and pushed you in the pond. I wound up jumping in and pulling you out." He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I guess I forgot. You never acted affectionate when Sakon was around."

"Of course I didn't. Both of them nearly killed me for being overly-affectionate. But you don't care, so I act like I want around you." His cheeks tinged pink, and he nodded his head. "Of course…I guess I _do_ like you more than a normal person should. You're like the sibling I never had. That's probably why I feel like I can act like myself around you and not Ukon…" He frowned. "Your mother was the same way to me… She was the same way to all of us. We could act more like ourselves around her than we could around our own parents… That's why all the guys liked you so much, Kiba. You have your mother in you, and you light up any room you walk in."

Kiba smiled. "Hana said the same thing to me when we first got down here…"

"Yeah…Hana would say something like that. To be honest, I always preferred your sister over your mother, though, unlike Ukon. She seemed a lot more nurturing to me than Tsume. Your mother was nurturing…but not in the same way as Hana. I remember I tripped and fell at one of your birthdays–the first birthday of yours I went to–, and the first person who came and helped bandage my knee up was Hana. Your mother just stood by and watched her do it. I think she liked seeing Hana act motherly…"

"Yeah…I noticed it, too… My mother often asked Hana to help her out when all of you guys came over. I remember one time Ukon ran head-first into a wall and my mother asked Hana to go tend to him." He laughed. "That's just like Ukon, too… And that one time him and Sakon got into a fight over who would go down into the basement first and wound up tumbling over each other down the stairs."

Kimimaro grinned. "You walked in wondering what happened and the second you saw them down there, you freaked out and ran down to see if they were alright…"

Kiba laughed again. "Yeah! And I wound up tripping on my shoelace and tumbling down after them…"

They settled into silence again, and both of them fell backwards onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Kiba lay there, counting all of the grooves in the ceiling made by the spackling effect they'd put there. Kimimaro was busy counting the beams and judging which ones were a lighter shade than the others.

Finally, Kimimaro turned and looked at him. "Why are you here, anyway? I figured you'd be here eventually since Kidoumaru seemed so upset after he went to visit you and gave you a bouquet or something…but…why _exactly_ are you here?"

Kiba's insides twisted, and he looked down at himself, feeling sticky and sweaty and all kinds of gross. He still hadn't washed himself off after Kidoumaru had spit his own semen out all over his lap. "I…tried to get Kidoumaru to sleep with me. Did you know he lived behind me when we were all younger?"

"…Y…Yes, actually. He was who I was looking at when you tapped me on the shoulder before the twins pushed me in the pond. I saw him watching us. I figured he liked you since we were all kids. That's why I don't trust him… He's just too…weird. Something never sat right with him, to me…"

"…Well…I never washed off after he gave me a blowjob and spit it out all over me…"

Kimimaro gave him a disgusted look and went to the door. He opened it, going and grabbing a towel from the hall closet. When he came back into the room, he tossed it on him, shaking his head. "That's disgusting. There's an unopened box with soap in it underneath the sink. Use that. You can use my shampoo but not my conditioner."

Kiba nodded, standing and walking to the bathroom. He was glad Kimimaro's mother slept like a rock. He often wondered why he never got the courage to actually throw a party at Kimimaro's house just to see if she'd sleep through it. Something told him she could've slept through an earthquake.

–––––––––––––––––––

Kimimaro was reading a book when Kiba walked in, a towel wrapped around his waist. His cheeks were bright red, and he looked like he'd just killed someone–slightly shocked and slightly scared. "Um…c…could I borrow a pair of boxers? I left in such a hurry that I forgot mine at Kidoumaru's house…"

His friend rolled his eyes, pointing at a dresser. "There. Third drawer down."

Kiba nodded, grabbed the boxers and left the room to go get dressed. When he came back, he was drying off his hair with a hand towel. He went to the bed and sat down, lying back happily. "It's almost like a sleepover."

"Girls have sleepovers. Boys spend the night."

"You know what I mean." He sat up, staring at the book Kimimaro had in his hands. "What are you reading? Great Postal Workers of the 20th Century?"

The pale-haired man looked back at him and fought a laugh, shaking his head. "No time for jokes, Kiba. I'm reading a medical diagnostic handbook. My mother told me her grandfather had the same thing I had the other day. He got tired easily and healed really fast… I'm trying to look up and see if there's a genetic condition or something the doctors have just been over-looking…"

Kiba stood and walked over, looking at the swirl of words on the page, unable to comprehend any of it. He frowned. "About that weird case of anemia… _Shouldn't_ you be getting some sleep right now?"

Kimimaro shot him a teasing look. "I can't sleep with you around. What if I have one of those sex dreams about you and you hear?" Kiba shoved his shoulder and his friend chuckled, closing the book and putting it back on his desk. He yawned and got out of his chair, making his way to the bed.

"Actually…I just wanted to know why you decided to come here and spend the night. That's why I'm still awake. Shino said something again…" He looked back at him over his shoulder. "Or is it because you found the tape on the dresser?"

Kiba blinked. "The…the what?"

"It's not important. I'll tell you about it later. Just tell me why you're here. It's obvious you wanted to see if you loved Kidoumaru more than Shino since you tried to sleep with him. So…do you know now?"

Kiba bit his lip anxiously, kicking his feet on the ground. "I already knew I wanted Shino when I went to Kidoumaru. Just…now I feel guilty for trying to forget… And…for cheating."

"You're not cheating if you weren't involved with him to begin with, Kiba."

"It just…feels like I cheated, though…" He went and sat on the bed, and Kimimaro took a spot next to him. He sighed, picking at the fabric in the quilt on the bed, his cheeks reddening.

"…He said he needs me up there. He said…he often questioned his existence…and that if I wasn't there with him…he was afraid he'd start to question it again…" He put his face in his hands and groaned. "I just… Well, when he says things like that…it makes it that much harder for me to love him and stay his friend. For him to say he needs me–considering my feelings for him–is like taunting me. It's like he's teasing me, even if he doesn't mean to. As if instead of saying all of that…he said, 'I know how close you want to get to me, and so I want you to get as close as you possibly can without ever reaching as much as you want.' It's so…" He sighed, curling up in the fetal position.

"It hurts so much."

Kimimaro placed a hand on his back and pulled him into a hug. "Do you want to know my opinion of Shino?"

"What is your opinion of Shino?"

"I think Shino is a closet case."

Kiba shot up immediately, nearly knocking his friend square in the chin, and stared at him in shock. "But he's not. He's been with so many women and…and if he were a closet case he would've realized it by now. He's thirty, damn it!"

"I'm just giving you my opinion. But…you know how often I can be wrong. He may very well be straight. I just…get vibes from him. Don't you?"

"No. At least, not enough for me to actually say he's a closet case with conviction…"

His friend smiled, patting him lightly on the back. "That's because you allow your emotions to cloud your judgment. You immediately think, 'Oh, he didn't mean that because he's straight and will never like me back'. Instead, you need to actually _listen_ to him and think about what he says, study his reaction. I'm sure if you did that you'd agree with me."

"I'll be sure to do that… Now what's this about a tape?"

Kimimaro stared at him for the longest time before he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry I never brought it up before… I just…thought you must've found it by now. On your dresser is a CD labeled 'one', right?"

Kiba nodded his head. "Yeah. I saw it while I was unpacking the first day we got in…but I didn't think anything of it. I just figured it was something I'd left behind after I moved out…"

"Your mother put it there. I know because she asked me and Ukon to help her… She never told us what it was, but she said it was something that would help you move on. I…I'm not supposed to tell you anything other than that. I swore to her I'd let you figure it out yourself, but…since you didn't think anything of it, I'm sure I can tell you that much."

His chest tightened and he opened the window, looking out at the ground beneath him. "…She left me _another_ message? …I…I have to get home." He turned and looked at Kimimaro, smiling. "Thank you, Kim. I hope one day you'll see just how stunning your life really is…" He crawled out the window, onto the roof, and jumped.

Kimimaro ran to the window, swearing a blue streak, only to see the brunette dashing to the fence and jumping it.

He smiled. "I'm pretty sure I've seen this in an anime somewhere…"

–––––––––––––––––––

His adrenaline was pumping, and he ran as fast as he could home. By the time he'd reached the house, he was just about ready to collapse into a heap in on the patio. His breathing came out in raspy breaths, and he was having difficulty breathing. He'd managed to turn a forty minute route from Kimimaro's house into ten, jumping over fences and crossing streets. It was about four in the morning, and he was dead tired.

But he wasn't done yet. He had to keep going.

His legs just about gave out as he struggled with the knob. He turned it, stepped in before his legs went weak at staying still for so long, and walked in the door. He slammed the door behind him in his haste and completely forgot the others were probably sleeping. He gasped, dropping to the ground, when he reached his bedroom. He crawled to the dresser and swept it over with his eyes, surprised to see nothing there. Shino had pulled him in and knocked everything off. Maybe he'd shoved it back into that box of CD's he had thinking it belonged in there.

He grabbed the box, tossing them out in a flourish. Nothing. He threw out everything from under his bed, sure it must've fallen down there when Shino had knocked everything over. Nothing, still.

He went pale and took a few minutes to catch his breath. He couldn't take too long or sleep would catch up with him and he'd hit the ground unconscious before he even knew it. From the bathroom came a flush, and he turned his head to stare at it. He stood, surprised.

The light was on, blaring underneath the crack at the bottom of the door. A few seconds letter, there was another flush. Seconds later, again. Seconds later, a fourth.

He narrowed his eyes, calming himself down enough and standing up, and walked to the door to the bathroom. He put his ear to the door, surprised to hear the faucet running. The stream of water from the faucet was interrupted by whoever put their hands underneath it to wash them. A few seconds later it happened again, and again, and again. Six times it happened, and finally the faucet turned off.

Kiba backed away from the door as it opened. Shino was standing there, rubbing his hair anxiously and muttering to himself. He didn't even seem to notice Kiba standing there, and he flicked the light switch off.

The second it went off, he flipped it on again. Kiba waited a moment, until Shino repeated the process six times. He finally spoke.

"Sh-Shino…what the hell are you doing? The light's off the first time, buddy."

Shino turned and looked at him, biting his lip and wincing slightly. He groaned, flipping the light switch off and then on again. "…It's not…right… Just…just ignore me…" He turned his head away and stared at the switch as he did it one more time.

Kiba stared at him in shock. "Sh-Shino. I can't just ignore this! You're even more of a mess than Juugo was this morning!"

Shino pushed past Kiba and went to the guest bedroom, looking absolutely distressed over the whole thing. He didn't say a word, and Kiba began to worry instinctively. Something was seriously wrong with him, ever since he'd come out and told him his feelings. What the hell was wrong with him? The door shut behind Shino, and as Kiba looked at the light underneath the door; he saw it flicker.

Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On. Off. On.

Off. And it stayed off that time.

Something twisted around in the pit of his stomach, and he found himself having a hard time breathing. Shino had turned that light on and off eight times before he finally stopped. The toilet, four, the sink, six, and the light, eight. What the… He knew Shino was a neat freak, but he hadn't acted like that at all before.

He hadn't acted like this at all the entire time he'd known him. It was because he'd just ran off and left, wasn't it?

He went to the door, knocking on it lightly. When Shino didn't respond, he turned the knob. It was locked, and he rested his head against the door. He bit his lip, feeling as guilty as ever.

"I'm…I'm sorry I ran off like that, buddy… If I did something to upset you…uh…I'm…I'm really sorry. Please let me help… Is there anything I can do?"

There was no reply on the other side of the door, and he sighed and went back to his room, collapsing in his bed. As worried about Shino as he was, he was asleep before his head even reached the pillow.

Over in the other room, Shino stared up at the ceiling, wearing that same distressed look on his face. He'd never felt the compulsion to do what he'd just done. Not once… He put a hand to his forehead and resisted the urge to smash his own head in. The fan directly above his head was off center. He stood up and centered it so that two blades were on each side from the center where he was looking up at it–a multiplication sign instead of an addition sign. He sat back down on the bed and stared at it, finding something calming about that image now. It was all in order, all right.

Symmetry, even numbers, this weird…obsession with order. He knew he was a bit of a neat freak obsessed with order to begin with, but he'd never had it this bad before.

'_Throw that question into the mix, Shino: Why did you suddenly sprout this weird obsession?'_

He groaned, muttering the answer to his own question. "Because I can't be open with Kiba about my feelings anymore. Great. Just…just great. Now I'm even more of a neurotic son of a bitch than I was before."


	27. The Scavenger Hunt pt1

_Woah. I posted three chapters to the ABC thing…and now I need to get back to this one._

_Just be warned. I'm really looking forward to using "Give the dog a bone" at least once in that fic. Just because it's too good of an opportunity to pass up._

_But anyway…this chapter was just as fun as it was aggravatingly difficult to get the words to flow freely (not until the end). I'm terribly sorry it takes a while to get up to the action, but in the end I felt it was better this way. Shino and Kiba…both completely blind to how the other feels. (No longer!) I had planned on this being one giant chapter that breached a few weeks, but in the end I like how I placed everything together. (Because Kiba's rash shouldn't last longer than a day. And if he was allergic to tarantulas to get a rash, that bite would cause a serious reaction, so he shouldn't even have that rash to begin with. It should just be itchy.)_

_I was able to find time to work on this during school, even though I should be doing ten contour drawings for my drawing class… I'll do it later. (My mantra.) Oh my Jesus, I had the most horrendous experience in creative writing and it's my own doing, gah! That's the last time I read my innermost feelings in class! I felt like I was about to break down before I finished! I was trying SO hard to keep it together! Ha ha. But when I finally finished, I wound up discovering someone who remembered my name, so obviously I must've said something that spoke to them, right? All my life I've been so quiet that people forgot I was even in class. (My teacher once said that she forgot I was there half the time, ha ha. I was so offended.) Oh well. "Trauma" I can deal with. I can't get worse; I can only get stronger. (My other mantra.)_

_Enjoy. ;D Um…and also…the position of the bed in Kiba's room changed in this chapter. (The layout I imagined was much like a friend of mine's from childhood, you see.) Before it was facing AWAY from the door, but logically it should be right in front of the door, so his closet has some space in it. So…oops. I don't feel like changing it…but I'm fairly sure I never mentioned where the bed was placed to begin with…_

_Did I? Hmmm… o.o;_

_And a few more notes for you all. For the strangest reason, when I was writing the part with Kiba and Shino at the cemetery, about to leave, it replaced both of their names with I's! It was like, "I grabbed I's sleeve" and stuff like that. It's even like that in my Microsoft Document! What the hell happened!? It was a bitch to correct in this. I half-expected it to be because FF compressed the file or something...but no. Apparently it was Word that did it. I don't understand how it happened. It was only in four paragraphs! Everything else was fine! If I did happen to miss one and it's noticeable, please don't hesitate to tell me so I can correct it._

_Also. This is sorta a tricky subject. I brought it up in Runner's High, a Death Note fic in which one of the boys is Catholic and the other is an athiest. At one point, instead of "Oh my God" or something like that, Kiba says, "Oh my _**g**_od." I haven't really been keeping up with it in this story or anything, but the whole reason behind that is to show that he doesn't believe in the one true God, especially since his mother believed in that and it seemed like he did nothing to help her, hence, that isn't capitalized. It wasn't a typo, and you should expect to see that more often. The reason why most of the characters still say "God" is because I haven't felt like stressing their religious views. Just know. Kiba doesn't really believe in all of that, so God is no longer capitalized when (hopefully every time) he says it. (Except, of course, when it's at the beginning of a sentence.)_

_Enjoy the fic. If the clues are confusing, I sincerely apologize. They made sense to me, but there's no telling if you all will understand them, considering my writing can be sort of horrendously vague at times. That's my biggest vice--not writing it clear enough for the reader to understand what I meant._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 27_

_Thump!_

Kiba leapt out of bed, away from the sound of the noise right next to his wall. His eyes widened in shock and he stared around the room, instantly awake. His breathing escalated sharply before it slowly calmed down. What time was it? How long had he been sleeping?

8:02. a.m.

He'd barely been asleep two hours since he fell asl–

_Thump!_

He jumped again, realizing the sound was coming from something knocking into the wall to his left. He swore, dashing out the door and turning sharply to see the door to the guest bedroom open a crack. He peered in, surprised to see something blocking the way. He slammed his fist into the door.

"Shino!?"

There was that loud thump again, and he pounded on the door again.

"Shino, what the hell is going on in there!?"

Shino's face appeared in the doorway for a split second before the object blocking his way in was moved carefully. Something clunked against the wall and the door swung open. He stepped in, surprised to see Shino was moving the furniture around in the room. His jaw dropped.

"Sh-Shino! What the hell… This is _my house_! What the hell are you doing moving the furniture around like its yours!? It's been set up like this for years! Why did you suddenly–"

He turned to see Shino shoving the dresser against the far end of the wall, beside the bed, and glared. "Shino! Are you even _listening_ to me!? I said quit it!"

Shino stopped instantly, staring down at the dresser, his face lowered and bright red. He looked toward the ground, and Kiba took a step toward him. "What are you doing, Shino? Seriously. Moving my furniture? Are you _looking_ for something? What!?"

Shino muttered, cautiously, as if he'd break if he said it any louder. "…It's…It's not right."

"It's perfectly fine!"

Shino finally turned his head, his lips set in a deep frown. "It's _not_ fine. It's not…symmetrical. I have to fix it. I can't…"

Hana stepped out of the master bedroom and turned the corner to stare at the mess. Mid-yawn, her jaw dropped. "K-Kiba! What the hell are you and Shino _doing_?? It's eight in the _morning_!"

Kiba turned around, vicious. "Ask _Shino_! He seems to think our décor isn't up to par with his fucking standards!" He swiveled his head back to Shino, glaring. The second he caught sight of Shino staring at the floor anxiously, his face fell, and he realized something was wrong. "Wait…Shino…"

Shino looked away again and sighed pathetically, running his hand through his hair. His hand was shaking, and Kiba frowned. "Shino. Just…t-tell Hana what you're up to. Please."

He bit his lip, going back to move the dresser. "I can't sleep…with the room like this. It's…it's not right. Everything's off…"

He was currently in the process of moving the tall dresser to the side of the wall by the bed. The shorter dresser was beside the door, like he was planning on moving it directly across from the taller dresser, next to the closet door. The end table from the bedside table was right next to it, directly in front of the bed, leaving a clear cut down the middle of the room–where Shino would be sleeping on the bed.

Kiba stomped over and grabbed his arm, swinging the taller man to the side, into a wall, with relative ease–Shino didn't put up any resistance. He reached up and grabbed his cheeks, pulling his face down so it was level with his. Shino protested a little, and Kiba cut him off with a single look. He stared directly into his eyes, biting his lip and shushing him.

"Shhhh. Come on, Shino; come back to me, buddy."

Shino's breathing quickened and he looked down anxiously. "I…I haven't gone anywhere."

Kiba shook him slightly, causing Shino to look back into his eyes. "No, you have. You're obsessing over this. Stop it. Not everything in this world is in perfect symmetry. It's stupid to try and keep everything in order. This side of the house has four rooms more than the other side of the house." He smiled. "Hell, even when I part my hair down the middle, I have more hair on my left side than on the right. So just calm down, alright?"

Shino took a deep breath and swallowed a lump in his throat. He reached his hand up, placing a thumb on Kiba's cheek and studying his features. It seemed to calm him, and he nodded his head, stepping back toward the dresser.

Kiba released him and went immediately toward the dresser by the door, looking at Hana. "Hana, help me move this." Hana stared at him for a brief moment, looking at Shino's face–he looked paler than usual–and nodded her head.

"Where do you want me to move it?"

"Directly across from that dresser Shino's moving. By the closet."

The siblings both moved that dresser over as Shino moved his. When that was done, Hana went over and gave the taller man a soft, endearing hug, and left the room, back to Juugo, who was trying to get back to sleep. Kiba wiped his hands a little, glancing over at Shino.

"Thanks," the taller man whispered.

Kiba paused, shrugging his shoulders. "Just thought we'd get it done faster if me and Hana helped you move. Shino, buddy, now that things are right again, maybe it's time you should get to bed."

Shino shook his head and went to the bed, reaching under the pillow. "Not until you see this." He handed it to Kiba, and Kiba took it immediately, staring at the number on the case. His breathing stopped, and for the longest time, Shino wasn't sure if Kiba would even move from that spot. That moment was fleeting, and Kiba looked back up at him with a stunned look on his face.

"You found it…"

"When I was cleaning your room up yesterday, yes. How did you find out about it?"

"…and you didn't tell me."

"Er…I…didn't think it'd be good for you after just finding out Hana was pregnant… I felt you'd need some time to calm yourself down…"

He assumed Kiba would get angry, yell at him for doing the same thing Hana had done by not telling him about the test, about the engagement, something, anything. But nothing like that happened. Kiba simply nodded his head and left the room. When his foot was lifted in the doorway, Shino let a small smile grace his lips.

"Your face is very symmetrical, Kiba."

Kiba turned and looked at him for a split second, his face completely blank, before he nodded his head once again. "Then look at it next time you feel yourself slipping away." He walked back out of the room, and Shino went slightly pink, looking toward his toes.

He could do that.

And yet, he couldn't do that.

––––––––––––––––––––––

Shino watched as Kiba walked out into the kitchen and hour later, his face blank. Hana and Juugo had decided against trying to go back to sleep and were trying to make breakfast. The brunette had been listening to that CD over and over and over again.

Kiba hadn't shed a single tear, and Shino didn't know if that was good or not.

Shino's sunglasses were back on, and everyone knew that was bad.

He looked at Shino, how his head was turned to the china cabinet. Kiba couldn't see his eyes, but he could tell by the way his eyebrows were upturned that he was anxious at the asymmetry of the broken-unbroken glass doors. He thrust his fist into the one that was fine, shattering the glass and making that door match the other side. Shino sucked in a breath, not expecting that at all. Hana gasped and looked over, nearly having a heart attack.

"K-Kiba! What the hell!?"

Kiba ignored her and wiped the blood dripping down his right hand onto the left, placing the CD in front of him and sitting directly in front of Shino. He winced, giving the man a forced, yet endearing, smile.

There.

All symmetrical.

Shino stared at the blood, looking anxious over that instead, and Kiba snapped his fingers. Everyone turned to stare at him, and Kiba looked over at Hana. "Clean up the glass for me, Hana. I've got some clues to find."

Juugo walked over and started to clean up the glass, and Hana immediately went to her brother's side. "Kiba, your hand… Just a moment; let me go get the kit." She left, and in an instant she had returned with the first aid kit. She bandaged up his hand and Kiba pushed her away mutely, turning and looking at Shino.

"Shino. I'm going to need your help. No…I _want_ you to help me. I can do this on my own, but I'd like you to help. My mother always had a knack for throwing a few surprises on me. I want you to meet my mother."

Shino stared at him, his mouth slowly opening. "…You want me…to meet…your…mother? Are we going to the cemetery?"

"Yes, and then I'm going back to the kennels to find her next clue. You'll help, right? I want you to listen to each one. I want you to hear her speak. I…" He turned his face to the table. "…I want you to be as important to me as I am to you. I want you to know you're needed. You're my best friend, and I want you to know that you always will be."

Shino nodded his head a little, his chest warming. He turned his head to the table and smiled. He knew he probably should've been a bit more upset over the fact that he'd only ever be Kiba's best friend, but the sentiment was far more comforting than he would've thought. Yes. Even if Kiba didn't feel the same way about him, this was fine for him. He needed to adjust to his own feelings anyway; it would take time for him to hurt over the fact that they'd only ever be friends.

An hour later, after Kiba had changed and Shino had showered and eaten breakfast, Shino was sliding into the passenger seat of the car Kiba's mother had passed onto her son. Kiba slid into the driver's seat, turning on the engine and backing out. Shino stared at the window the entire way, as they neared the cemetery, until finally he glanced over at Kiba.

"…Why break the window in the door?"

"Symmetry, Shino."

" Yes, but your hand–"

"Is fine. I've fallen and split my knee open before. It took forever to heal, and I still have a scar. That was nothing. Don't worry so much."

"…N…" He looked back out the window, staring at a passing car. "Never do that again."

–––––––––––––––––

He stared at the grave right in front of them, and Kiba bent down, setting two roses he'd stopped to get onto it–one on each side. He looked up at Shino, smiling sadly. "This is good, right? One on each side?"

His breathing caught in his throat, and he desperately wanted to tell him it was perfect, that he'd done exactly what would make him less anxious…but…the words never left his lips. They stayed here, stuck in his mouth like some weird egg that refused to fall out. He finally settled to nodding his head and looked away, his chest tightening. Kiba was really looking out for him, wasn't he? Surely he knew it wasn't his fault for running off the other night… He really didn't have to work this hard to calm him down…

Kiba bent down, kissing the headstone gently, standing and clenching his fists. It was difficult. He still hadn't gotten over her, but he was trying his hardest. Kiba pushed him away, muttering quietly. "I…I need to say something to her. Please…go stand over there and wait your turn."

Shino walked a ways until he was out of hearing range and leaned against the tree, watching the brunette drop to his knees and place his hands flat on the ground.

Kiba bent his head down, close to the ground, his eyebrows knitting together. "M…Mom…I know you always wanted me to find someone who was right for me… Well…I…I found him…and…well, he's straight." He laughed, more to hide the fluttering of his heart and the lead weight settling at the pit of his stomach, and wiped at his eyes. "He's straight, Mom. You would've found the entire thing hilarious… You probably would've locked him in a room and forced him to look at gay pornos until he either bit his arms and legs off to get away or started liking men for me…" He smiled, wiping at a few tears pricking at his eyelashes.

"…I found your CD…" His lips twisted and he clenched his fists, feeling his knuckles claw against the marble beneath his hands. "…I realize now…just how badly Dad's death affected you… And…And I understand a little bit how you must have felt with Dad because Shino's acting really strange lately and I'm worried to death… I'm sure part of you at one point felt like it was your fault Dad was so angry, and that you didn't raise me right…and I feel guilty because Shino started acting strange ever since I ran off after he told me he needed me…because I didn't want to hear it. It still really hurts being around him…but now I'm just striving to hear him say it again, even though I know his feelings behind it are only friendly."

He sighed. "I'm in love with someone who will never love me back. I know its pathetic, but I can't see anyone else but Shino… It's like a curse or something… I got that job…and I made friends…and now I'm right back home, terrified and unrelenting like that same frightened child that would go running away from the kennels to you from a single bee… Wherever you are…just…a…are you proud of me? Have I let you down by going back to being your useless son that can't even grow up? Are you disappointed?"

He started to shake, his voice barely leaving his mouth above a whisper.

"Do you feel as ashamed about me as I do?"

He wiped at his eyes and looked up at the man making his way back over toward him, like he was worried. He stood immediately, wiping at his eyes and holding a hand out to signal for him to stop. "I'm fine, Shino. Just…Just give me a minute."

He looked back at the ground, nodding his head. "…However long it takes…I'll make you proud again, Mom. I may not get over you…but I'll try, damn it. I'm just so sick of hurting. And…And I know you're sick of it, too." Shino could hear it, he knew, but that was alright. It didn't matter if he heard that part: just as long as he didn't hear the first part, it was alright.

He wiped at his eyes again, motioning Shino over toward him and patting him on the back. "I think she'd love to meet my best friend. Say hello; she's all yours." He forced a smile on his face, a chuckle issuing from his throat that never made its way to the surface.

"Be gentle with her, Shino, buddy."

Shino nodded his head and looked down at the grave, at those two roses placed side by side, at the base of the gravestone. He looked at the words, tracing his fingers in one of the letters absentmindedly.

"Tsume Inuzuka 1954–2008." He turned his head to Kiba, who was starting for the tree to give him some privacy. "No maiden name?"

Kiba turned slightly pink, scratching his head. "Dad wound up taking hers…"

"Well, with a father like that, it's no wonder you turned out the way you did…" The smirk came easily. As much as he knew Kiba would get offended, it was fun to pick at him.

"Not really." Kiba cleared his throat a little. "…His family disowned him when he quit law and got my mother pregnant out of wedlock. They only met us for Christmas, and it was really only for one day to see their grandkids… As far as he was concerned, he wasn't fit to carry on their name…" He rubbed the back of his head. "My…father had a habit of looking at himself too harshly… That's why he drank heavily after he married my mother… He loved her…but he was also ashamed at the same time… Ashamed of himself, not my mother."

Shino nodded his head. "…I guess that's what you got from your father…" Kiba stared at him, his cheeks reddening slightly, and Shino smiled. "I get my sense of humor from my mother, apparently."

Kiba grinned easily, though inside he was feeling like shit. He really _was_ like his father in the self-disgust department, wasn't he? "What sense of humor, stiff?"

Shino laughed lightly and then motioned for him to leave, and when Kiba had propped himself up against the tree, Shino looked down at the gravestone, muttering barely above a whisper, not trusting Kiba to not hear.

"…You've got a great son. He's not the most eloquent or the most graceful…but he's definitely the most loyal." He nodded his head, running his hand through frizzed hair agitatedly. "…I…sorta think he's attractive. I hope you…don't mind…" He stared at the grave, his eyes glazing over. This was crazy… She was dead…so why was he even saying all of this? Of course she didn't mind. She'd known her son was gay when she was still alive, right…? He'd never even met her…so why was he…why was he spilling everything out in the open? Because it gave him a release? Because it gave him a chance to let himself be heard?

"…I'm…I'm not the most eloquent, either… In fact…I have difficulty speaking my mind almost ninety-percent of the time…but…but I'm sure we would've gotten along really well… It…It's a pity I didn't meet you when you were alive… You seem like an amazing woman…and you've got two amazing kids… It doesn't matter if Kiba's moody and rash and having a hard time coping with everything right now…and it doesn't matter that Hana is pregnant after a chance encounter with a man she suddenly decided she wanted to marry after prosecuting against him two years ago… You raised them well…and I'm glad Kiba's here…even though I wish we were both back in the city right now…"

He turned to walk back to the man at the tree for a short moment before he glanced back at the grave, putting a hand against his mouth, away from Kiba. "Try not to raise _too_ much hell up there…er…m…Mom…"

And with that, he walked back over to Kiba, who was still leaning against the tree. He propped himself against the tree, sort of facing away from the shorter man. He turned his eyes to him, shrugging his shoulders, though inside he was positively rattled. "…So…on to the hunt for clues, Mr. Bloodhound?"

Kiba shrugged his shoulders as well, looking up at the tree above them. "…Not yet. Not until something inside me stirs. It doesn't feel right yet…"

"When will something stir inside you?"

There was a loud, audible growl that broke the silence that had formed between them, and Shino grabbed Kiba's sleeve, smirking. "Sounds like it's time to get going. Didn't eat breakfast this morning, did you? Let's get breakfast before we head out." He glanced back at him. "Do pancakes sound good?"

Kiba licked his lips, starting to salivate. "Bacon and eggs." He ripped his hands out of Shino's grip, tossing his hands in the air, forcing himself to look like everything was fine. "A _mountain_ of bacon! And sausages!! Geez, I have to take you to this one restaurant that serves the best coffee you'll ever taste!"

–––––––––––––––––––

People stared. As much as Kiba didn't want to admit it, it was really pissing him off and hurting him all at once. Shino never said a word, but Kiba could tell by the way he was tilting his head to the side that he noticed people looking, too. Kiba sighed, propping his face in his hands.

"…Think I should tell Hana about this? The scavenger hunt, I mean."

Shino shrugged his shoulders. "Would she get jealous?"

"Nah. She'd probably salute mom for doing something like this. I still don't understand what she meant, though… That by the time this was over, I'd go back to the city willingly. Kimimaro said the same thing to me the other day."

"So…that's where you were all night?"

Kiba looked up at the man in front of him, slightly perturbed that he couldn't tell what he was thinking right now. His eyes were covered, and he couldn't see so clearly what the man was thinking anymore. Was he angry? Was he worried? …Heh heh. Was he _jealous_? Jealous like Kimimaro, most likely. Jealous that he wasn't his only friend, and that he had other people he could depend on…

"…Yeah. That's where I was all night. Until four." He smiled, trying to sound casual about it. "Kimimaro is writing a children's book, apparently."

A woman to their left smashed her cup of coffee onto the table, groaning. Kiba looked over, recognizing that sound immediately. The woman glanced back at him, showing more wrinkles in her face than he remembered–since when had she gotten so _old_?

"I knew it wasn't Kimimaro taking a shower at three in the morning, Kiba."

Kiba smiled at her, winking. "Well, I can't keep away from your daughter. I thought you were asleep. Did we wake you, Ms. K?"

Shino's fists clenched involuntarily, and he looked away, back toward the window of the diner. Kiba didn't take notice, too preoccupied with the woman staring at him. She gave him a smile, stroking a lock of his hair. "You and Kimimaro always shared something Ukon and that bastard Sakon didn't with him. I'm so glad that he was with you when he was with them. If not, I would've really harped on him for falling in with a bad crowd. But you always kept him safe, didn't you?"

Kiba nodded his head mutely. "And every time you smelled weed on his sweaters, that was from the guys. I always convinced him it was a waste of time." Kimimaro's mother smiled at him warmly, and Kiba snickered. "But this one time he got _so_ drunk that he ran around the park in his birthday suit." He started to shake, trying to keep himself from laughing so hard. "He fell into the fountain and we had to fish him out!"

Her expression hardened, and she stood. "And then he wound up with pneumonia. I just hope you didn't take more from him last night than he wanted, Kiba."

Kiba looked away from her, wincing visibly. Shino stared at him, slightly concerned, and Kiba looked back at his food, muttering. "Your son isn't gay, Ms. K. And I never took shit from him. All I did was give, give, give." He looked at her. "And that shower wasn't too big of a deal. All I took was a pair of boxers because I lost mine."

The two–Kimimaro's mother and Shino–instantly locked eyes on him, mouths opening to say something. Before she could say anything, she went pink, curling a lock of hair behind her ear. "…Ah…so…so that conversation about Kidoumaru was true, then? Ah…well…it's in your best interest to make sure you get every article of clothing after a one-night stand." She wrinkled her nose. "Kidoumaru is the type of man who'd keep things like that to smell later…"

Kiba shuddered, and he looked back at his food. He turned to Shino, who was staring at him with a half-gape, and he shifted uncomfortably. He forced a smile and looked back at her. "Th-Thank you for a lovely chat, Ms. K. And thanks for the advice…but it won't be necessary."

She gave him a curt nod and Kiba looked back at Shino, smiling a little too uncomfortably for his taste. As she walked to the front and paid for her meal, Kiba rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…her feelings for me are mixed. On one hand I'm that gay guy in town that shouldn't associate with her son. On the other hand I'm his precious friend that took care of him all the time when he was younger… And then of course I'm also the friend that got him into trouble when he was in high school… She acts like I'm the greatest person in the world for Kimimaro…but inside I feel like it's all an act…"

"…She only started saying all of that to you because you told her about how much trouble her son got into. Streaking in the park because you and your friends got him drunk only to get pneumonia over the whole thing? No wonder she lashed out. I'm sure most of her thinks of you endearingly."

Kiba planted his elbows on the table, running his hand through his hair. "Geez. I say too much, don't I?"

"Don't beat yourself up over it. You do just fine. Your ease in speaking is one of your good qualities. It shows you have trouble lying, and people like that."

"Do you think I lie, Shino?"

Shino stared at him, at how Kiba's eyes were staring at him with the most peculiar look to them, like he was staring past his glasses. He felt exposed, naked, under that gaze, and he shifted accordingly. "…What would you have to gain by lying to me?" He turned and looked back at him, clearing his throat and distancing himself from the situation to speak properly.

"So…_is_ it true that you left your boxers at Kidoumaru's last night?"

"Tch." Kiba stood, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know where she got that idea. I may like Kidoumaru and all, but I don't give it away before a proper date, damn it."

"So…your boxers?"

"The elastic snapped. I tossed 'em."

He went to the front to order, and Shino covered his mouth at the smile making its way to his face. What a blatant lie, that fucker. No one tosses underwear in the middle of the night, even if the elastic _did_ snap. And especially not if they're wearing them at the time. So…why was the thought so amusing when it should've been making him angry?

He trusted Kiba, but he shouldn't have trusted him too much. After all, he and Karin had never once gone out on an official date. She just went to his house and fucked him. No official date. Kiba surely could've been capable of that.

Damn. Why were his emotions so cluttered? He needed to clear his head and think about it logically. He needed to–

"Shino, buddy. Let's go."

Thinking would have to wait.

––––––––––––––––––––

The kennels were dusty. There were shelves with various supplies for the dogs, but even those were coated in a layer of dust. There was the enclosure connected to large shed, like stables almost, having to walk through the shed filled with cages to get there. It was much bigger than he'd thought previously, after just staring at it from across the field, and even when he pressed himself against it and spoke with his Dad for a few hours. In fact, there was enough room for about fifty full-grown dogs in there. There was also a separate enclosure off in the corner, inside, probably for dogs that were birthing.

Shino stared at the place, coughing lightly at the dust. There were cobwebs everywhere, and when he looked up, he saw a spider crawling along the wall. He turned to Kiba, who was already looking around fervently. He opened a cabinet next to the shelf and sink, his eyes widening.

He grinned and grabbed for something inside. A collar was in his hands when he finally drew them back. He stared at the collar, his insides warming. He looked over at Shino, handing him the collar. "That was Kaede's. She was my first dog, and I loved her a lot. This was the collar she wore when she was a puppy. She, like Akamaru, wasn't purebred. My parents knew I wasn't a fan of the dogs they bred."

Shino took the collar, feeling the worn leather and staring at the strange, faded maroon colour of it. There was something stitched in it, and he looked at it closer. Kiba went to the side and flicked something on the wall. There was a buzz and a flicker before the light snapped on, the light buzzing noisily like it was angry at being used after so much rest from its job.

The words became clearer.

"Kade?"

Kiba grinned. "Yeah. My parents wanted to get her name sewn onto the collar…but there was a mistake. I was so angry at the time, but now when I look back on it, I think it gives her character. She was the most retarded dog in the world. Immediately after I got her for my tenth birthday, she fell in the pond and nearly drowned. The family dog at the time–something that had to do with stars or something–jumped in and had to fish her out. For the longest time Kaede wouldn't go near the pond, even though she knew how to swim well enough. Just like her collar, there was always something she was lacking."

Shino smiled. "Lacking? What do you mean? Like…she wasn't smart or that she just simply wasn't trainable?"

"She chased a leaf across the street after I moved away for college and got hit by a car. She wasn't smart to any degree."

"Oh…I'm sorry to hear that…"

"It's okay. I never had enough time to cry over it. I was too busy at the university."

"…Maybe your mother wants you to cry over it now. It's not like you're going anywhere anytime soon. You've got time to grieve."

Kiba reached into the cabinet and pulled out the next clue. "You're probably right about that." He looked at the collar in Shino's hands, his eyes glazing over. "After all…I was always the one that had to get her attention away from the street… When I left, I left her completely unprotected. When I left, I knew it would be the last time I saw her. But what else could I have done? I couldn't just take her with me…" He sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

"But it's been so many years…I doubt I'm still worked up over it."

"Then why is Akamaru so huge?"

There was a loud bark and they both turned to see Akamaru in the doorway, panting happily. Kiba went over to him and ruffled the hair on his back, smiling. "Yeah, he's pretty big, isn't he? It'd take a semi to kill you, wouldn't it, boy?" Akamaru barked in response, and he smiled. "Yeah. And I know you're smart enough not to chase a leaf down the street when there's clearly the sound of a car going over the speed limit right beside you…"

He patted the dog on the head and looked back at Shino. "Akamaru is the closest to grieving over Kaede I think I'll ever get. He was the same size as her when I found him, and I didn't imagine he'd get so big."

Shino smiled, going over and patting the dog on the head as well. "Where'd you find him?"

"In the backyard. There was a group of stray dogs that would terrorize the dogs in the kennel. Akamaru was one of them. He was a runt, so naturally he needed to follow a pack around." He smiled. "Kuromaru attacked one dog when Hana was still in college and that dog left, but three years ago the same damn thing happened. It was a group of dogs, and Akamaru was one of them." He patted his pal on the head. "Isn't that right? They nearly killed the triplets, didn't they?"

Akamaru let out a light 'woof' and sat down in the doorway. Kiba looked back at Shino.

"The triplets managed to scare them off when Kuromaru joined the fray, but Akamaru was the only one that came back the days after his pack got run out. He would bark at the back door, and eventually he was treating the triplets like they were his own siblings. Kuromaru was even treating him like his own puppy, putting him in his place and giving him the guidance he needed. What else could I have done but take the little guy in?" He looked down and gave Akamaru a big hug, and the dog barked, nuzzling his shoulder affectionately. He glanced back at Shino, grinning.

"Dad was against it, but Mom said that I might as well own him since he wouldn't leave anyway. He's technically just a stray that lived in the backyard. Dad never liked him, wouldn't let him in the house; I think he was afraid he'd attract those dogs again. Eventually Akamaru grew to be the size he is now and managed to hold his own against the triplets and Kuromaru all at once." He played with Akamaru's long, floopy ears, and laughed.

"You're Superdog, aint'cha, boy??" He looked back at Shino, smiling. "Kaede was definitely Underdog."

"That why you wear that shirt?"

Kiba looked down at the shirt he was wearing. There was Underdog on the front, underneath the picture were the words, "There's no need to fear…" and on the back, in big bold letters, "Underdog is here!"

Kiba smiled. "Underdog was so great, wasn't he? That movie recently was complete shit, though." He went back to Akamaru, sighing. "Well, boy, I wish I could give you as much attention as I need to make up for ignoring you…but I've got a clue to listen to. Surely you understand…?"

The dog gave him a big lick on the face, and he laughed. "Good, boy."

Akamaru ran off and jumped into the pond, deciding to scare the fish. He could touch the bottom, and the water went up to his side, right up to the base of his tail. He barked a little and splashed around, and Kiba grabbed Shino by the sleeve.

"Bring that collar with you. We'll listen to that CD in my room."

–––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba listened to the clue four times, smiling all the while, laughing a little. And then, it was Shino's turn. Shino placed the headphones on his ears, and pressed play. She was laughing, and she opened up something that creaked. As she did, it sounded as if she were pulling out a glass from the cabinet. After a brief laugh, she sighed.

"Oh, my darling pup…the things I have planned for this scavenger hunt. …Do you remember when you first got Kaede? It was your tenth birthday, and you'd been asking to have that runt from out back for the longest time. You were so upset when we gave him away to that family who wanted him… So your father and I discussed it, and eventually we decided that it would be best to get you a dog that would not be for breeding. In the long run, it would save more effort on your part… And boy…did we make a mistake. Kaede was the stupidest dog on earth. It was near impossible to train her, and you wound up giving up and having me train her, remember? I, of course, forgave you, since you were so young at the time…but that was no excuse for immediately coming home with your little friends and pulling her away while I was trying to teach her how to not use the house as a toilet, damn it. Do you remember when she fell in the pond and nearly drowned? You were so upset over that…but Hokuto managed to baby her until she got better…

"…Hokuto was a good dog. So nice and trained. It was a pity she had to die so young. It's a pity Kaede outlived the poor bitch… Maybe you blame yourself for Kaede dying. I don't know, but I always suspected you got even more overprotective of her when Ukon made you fall right on top of her… She may have been the dumbest dog I have ever been unfortunate enough to attempt to train–she relapsed and starting pissing in the house when you left, she was just as broken up about it as you–, but she was charming…somewhat. Alright, so she was the saddest excuse for a dog I have ever seen…but it was your father's idea to get one from the _store_. I was able to convince him to get you your own dog…but it was his idea to buy one from the pet store instead of someone who bred other purebreeds. Remember that. Your father wasn't as in tune with dogs to begin with. Kaede was a…er…good dog…so don't beat yourself up over the fact that she was dumb enough to run into the street after a _leaf_ of all things."

She cleared her throat, and the faucet turned on. After a while, she gulped down a glass of water and set it back down, sighing a little at how refreshing it was.

"As for the next clue…well…why don't you have a carrot, my little one?"

It cut off, and Shino cleared his throat. Kiba was already at the bookcase, reaching for the book. He pulled out the book, grinning. "I still kept it after all these years. Throwing things away with memories attached to them is like hell for me. Mom had to practically kick my ass for me to get rid of as much shit as I did in high school. These were the only things that stayed…"

He opened it, immediately finding the CD. He looked at Shino, smiling.

"Too easy."

Shino didn't speak. He didn't have the heart to tell him he'd known it was there since day one. To be honest if he had and Kiba had skipped ahead, that not only would've been cheating, but he would've missed that collar. He would've missed one of the memories he and his mother shared. Shino really had no reason to complain or say that he'd found it anywhere.

Kiba popped the CD into the player, taking the headphones off of Shino's ears and placing them on his own. He pressed play, and the CD began to spin. After a short moment, he closed his eyes. Shino sat there, watching him. For what seemed like forever, Kiba didn't move an inch. It wasn't until the CD cranked in to the ending, and when Shino was motioning for the headphones, that Kiba finally moved.

He looked over at Shino, his eyes incredibly sad, and tried to say something. It caught in his throat, and he reached down, pressing play again. The CD started again, and this time Kiba finally started to cry. Tears dripped down his cheeks and he sniffled loudly, wiping the snot from his nose.

When the CD stopped again, he pressed play a third time. By the time it had finished, Kiba was smiling, his eyes still closed. Shino placed a hand on his shoulder, and finally Kiba spoke.

"…Sh–" He cleared his throat as his voice cracked. "She…She knew how much I liked that book when I was a kid…" He wiped at his nose one hand, wiping at his eyes with the other. "…And she knew how to read it, too. M…Mom was soft when she needed to be and a hardass when the situation called for it…" He laughed lightly, taking the headphones off and shoving it into Shino's hands.

"See for yourself."

Shino placed the headphones over his ears and pressed play. Indeed, her voice was soft. There were no outside noises to clue them in to where she was, and he could only guess what the next clue would be.

"My little pup… You really liked this book, didn't you? The Runaway Bunny. Every time I'd read it, I'd curl up on your bed, your sister next to you, and I'd read it to both of you… Your sister grew tired of it when you turned four…but you still loved it until you turned twelve. Close your eyes, Kiba."

That must've been why Kiba had closed his eyes. The taller man looked at Kiba, and Kiba motioned with his hands for him to shut his eyes. He did as he was told, right as she started speaking again.

"Imagine yourself tucked into bed at night. The nightlight at the end of the room is lit, and there is a dull glow hitting the book. Your sister is at your left, and I'm at your right, my arms around both of you, the book in front of your eyes so you can see the pictures. It's incredibly warm, and you're pressed against me so close you can hear my heart beating in a nice, even rhythm, by your ear." She started to tap against what sounded like a box muffled with a blanket, and as she tapped, it fell into the same steady beat as a heart beat. After two seconds, it even started to sound like one, low and in his right ear.

She started to read the book, and as she did so, Shino couldn't help but feel suffocated. This…This was… This was so intimate. The most intimate thing he'd ever been a part of. Mother and son, a heartbeat in his ear, her soft voice, low and soothing, reading a book about a mother's love for her child. He opened his eyes, unable to stand it any longer.

A lump caught in his breath, and he was sure if he hadn't been wearing his sunglasses, Kiba would've seen the tears welling up in his eyes, threatening to fall.

He'd never had that. Hell, his father, even when he did curl up in the bed beside him when he was younger, would roll over as far away as possible. He'd never heard a heart beat, never felt a breath against his forehead, never felt…never felt a _mother_. Was _this_ what he was missing out on all his life? This made things so clear. He'd…He'd really missed out on a _lot_, hadn't he?

"…Kiba… I love you so much, my little pup. Wherever you go, I will find you. I will be with you, no matter where I am or where you are… I am always here with you. I will be the soft voice calling you back home, the voice that guides you when you're faced with all the choices I don't want you to be faced with. I'm the voice of reason that keeps you doing the right thing, the voice that you hear every night before you go to sleep. …I…I'm the voice that will bring you up when you are at your lowest…"

There was a deep breath, and finally it sounded like her voice shaking. "I'm…I'm sure you _are_ at your lowest right now…which is why you're on this little hunt for clues. Just r-remember, Kiba…" For the longest time there was a short squeak, a whine, in his ear, until finally she took a deep breath.

"I'm here with you, even now. Even though I'm not there physically."

Shino looked over at Kiba, and Kiba was staring at the CD player, deep in thought. There was a blip, and suddenly there were sounds all around. A loud din of people talking, footsteps, echoing voices, the sounds of an open building. She was breathing heavily, like it had taken a slight effort to get wherever she was.

"Here is your next clue, my little pup. It's going to be a little harder than the ones you've been getting up until now. So, just wait a moment and listen carefully."

She stepped into a place that was more closed off; the sounds had diminished, like stepping into a room where the air was cut off in and instant. There was a chiming, one or two people speaking, a woman and her son. Kiba's mother went straight to what sounded like a clothing rack, judging by the sounds of metal scraping against metal.

She muttered to herself, something about it not being the right size. Finally, she found what she was looking for and went to what sounded like the counter.

"Hello. I haven't seen you here in a while, Ms. Inuzuka. What's that you're carrying?"

She laughed, though it sounded strained. "I…I don't come to the mall as often as I used to, Wallace. I'd like to buy this coat; just ignore what the sound equipment. It's for a project I'm doing."

"Oh! Sort of like a memoir? That'll be two hundred dollars for the coat, please. A memoir, eh? I'll bet you're giving something for your children to hear, aren't you?"

She sighed. "Something like that. Enough of this chat, though. Here's the money."

_Shuffle. Ka-ching! Whirrr. Click! _"You know…that coat reminds me of a coat I saw on your son many years ago…"

She laughed, genuine this time. "That's because it's supposed to."

_Bzzzbzzzbzzz. Rip! _"Here's your receipt, Ms. Inuzuka."

"Thank you, Wallace. You're a blessing."

The CD came to an abrupt stop, and Shino took the headphones off his ears. What could he say…? He wasn't really sure how to respond to that. Kiba knew the town better than him, and he had no idea what to make of that clue. He turned to Kiba, putting a hand on the bed beside him, barely nudging the shorter man's leg.

The brunette turned and looked at him, his eyes opening again. "What did you think, Shino?"

Shino processed the information slowly, before he finally nodded his head. "…Your mother bought a two hundred dollar coat with cash. Not check, not debit, not even credit…"

"No…I meant…did that first part give you an idea on what all those kids in elementary school had that you didn't? D-Do you have an idea of what it's like to have a mother now?"

Shino looked down at the carpet, his cheeks tingeing pink. "Somewhat," he replied quietly. Kiba smiled easily and looked up at the ceiling, his lips twisting a little.

"…On to the clue, though… You're right. She _did_ buy it with cash, but that's really not important. She was at the mall, where I got a coat similar to one I used to wear all the time when I was a kid… Perhaps the clue is at the mall?"

"It could be, but it's too dangerous. For her to put something like a CD case in the mall, she'd have to know for sure it would stay where she placed it… It doesn't sound likely that she'd put the clue there…"

"She could've given it to Wallace. The mall's over in another town, but Wallace actually lived here. He lived across town. If she gave it to him, then he'd have it. I remember my parents were close friends of his… We went over there often. She probably left it with him." He stood, determined. "Yeah. He's got the clue."

"Are you sure Wallace is the clue? What if…" He trailed off, and Kiba continued to stare at him. He went silent, deciding not to speak up. It'd probably be good for him to chase after this Wallace person, anyway…even if he didn't have the next clue with him. Kiba bent down, his face too close for comfort.

"What was that, Shino?"

"Hmmm?" He shifted uncomfortably, backing away a little.

Kiba straightened up again, crossing his arms over his chest, looking at him strangely. "What _if…_?"

"…I just mean…Wallace might not be the clue. There's also the coat. She bought that coat. It must be here somewhere, right? Maybe the clue is with it…"

"Yes…but where? There's nothing in my closet except for what I unpacked, there's nothing in _her _closet or in the guest bedroom's closet. Where would she keep a coat?"

"…The hall closet?"

The second those words left Shino's mouth, Kiba frowned. "That's…that's too easy, though. She said it was going to be more difficult."

"…The obvious choice _would_ be to go to the mall or Wallace. It's probably difficult because the answer isn't the first thing you'd think of. But think about it. Why would she buy a coat just to lead you to the mall? She could just as easily walk around the mall and chat with a few people. She could've bought something cheaper than two hundred dollars. If the mall _were_ the clue, there'd be no reason to spend that much money on it."

"Then Wallace is."

"…But why buy the _coat_ if she were just going to toss it later? It's supposed to look like a coat you wore when you were a kid, according to what Wallace said. You found that collar with the clue in the kennel. What if you find the coat with the next one? It seems like a pattern, right?"

Kiba narrowed his eyes, wracking his brain. "Well…that's _obvious_, but there's no telling if there has to be a pattern of finding something with the clue. If that _were _the case, we'd only be able to tell after two or three. Not _one_. And I didn't get anything with the first clue."

"…But you did get the first clue _with_ something, Kiba. You got this entire house. Surely that counts. Sure, it's circumstantial at best, but what's the harm in checking the closet before we follow a lead that may or may not come out fruitful? Just check the hall closet. If there's no coat in there, we can continue to Wallace."

Kiba nodded his head. "Alright. We'll check it…"

The two left the bedroom, immediately going to hall closet. When they opened it, it was obvious no one had been using it for a while. There were a few coats hung up, and the floor was littered with boxes and papers. Something caught Kiba's eye, and he reached into a cluster of coats, grabbing at something with fur on it.

He pulled out a jacket with fur along the sleeves and all along the hood. It was sitting there, the tag still on it, zipped up and hung on a hanger. His eyes roamed over it, searching for pockets or anything that might hide a CD. It really _was_ like the coat she'd bought him when he was eleven. The difference? The style was much more laid back than his old coat. It had changed with the times–becoming less flashy.

Shino stared at the coat, a smile forming on his lips. "That's it." When Kiba nodded, Shino reached over, running his hand along the sleeve. "It's nice. Does it have any pockets?"

Kiba slowly unzipped it, surprised to find a pocket right on the inside of the coat–his old jacket didn't have_ that_–big enough to fit the CD. He held his breath as he unzipped the zipper that closed that pocket up, and reached in. His hand brushed against plastic, and he took a deep breath and exhaled. His smile returned as he turned to Shino and said, "Yes. You were right. It's in here."

He ripped CD out and started back toward his room, Shino close behind. As he entered the hallway to Kiba's bedroom, he caught sight of the clock. It wasn't even twelve yet. How long was this going to take? It didn't seem like it would take much…

–––––––––––––––––––

"Do you remember when I got you that coat, Kiba? It fit for five years before it was obvious you'd grown out of it." She laughed. "Well, I know you like less fancy stuff now. Imagine my surprise when you came back from college wearing that black leather jacket! I'd thought you'd suddenly become interested in The Ramones and even wanted to grow your hair out like them!" She sighed. "I still don't understand your taste in music, but that's alright, boy. Still…if you want to be fancy again…you've got this coat. Just _please_ try not to wear so much gold chains and act like some kind of hip hop star. It's really not flattering for you or any of the hip hop stars out in the world, Kiba…"

After a short while, her neck cracked. "You came over for Easter. I almost didn't think I could get you out of bed for church, but I did. And you went. I'm sorry all of those people were staring at you funny, my little pup. I half-expected them to try and set you on fire, but thank God they didn't do that. It must've been uncomfortable for you being there… At the time you kept asking me if it was because Dad died. That I was going to church all of a sudden, I mean. I had to fight to keep myself from telling you the real reason. I was terrified you'd discover how sick I was when I went to the hospital to get chemo to prolong the inevitable. I still need to finish these clues…and you still need a job."

"I have a dentist's appointment to go to. I had it scheduled six months ago, when I had my last one…but I really don't see why I should go. In, God willing, _four _months or so, my teeth will be six feet under anyway. But I will go. Because that gives me a wonderful opportunity for your next clue. Do you remember that time you got a whole dollar for that tooth you lost in the barbeque chicken you were eating? When you were nine? Looking back on it, we could've easily given you more for the previous teeth. I suppose I just didn't want to spoil you again. A nickel each tooth. And Sakon and Ukon were getting a whole dollar." She laughed. "I was so terrified when you looked up at me and had a tooth missing. I thought you'd swallowed it. Thank goodness it had lodged itself in the chicken you'd taken a bite out of… I feel I gave you too much to go on… But…surely you'll be able to take that clue and find it… It should be harder to find than the last one. I got creative with this one. But you can find it. I know you can. …Until the next clue, my little pup."

The CD came to a stop, and Shino took the headphones off his ears, staring at Kiba. "…You'll know this more than I will, Kiba. Where do you think the next clue is?"

"…Well…that day we were having barbeque. My spot in the table has always been the same. It's just…she said it'd be difficult to find. It can't be on the table or anything because we would've seen it yesterday… Maybe it's at the dentist."

"Maybe it's outside."

"That's too risky. What if it rains?"

"It doesn't hurt to try."

Kiba nodded. "Right. That's…that's how we found the fourth clue, after all…"

As they left his room and went down the hall, they entered the kitchen. Hana was sitting there working on a sudoku puzzle, and Juugo was idly stroking her hair. When they entered, the pair looked up at them. Hana smiled. "You two were in Kiba's room for quite some time. I didn't think you'd ever leave. It's almost time for lunch. How do sandwiches sound?"

Kiba rubbed the back of his head. "…I'm not hungry."

She nodded her head and went back to her puzzle, and Juugo smoothed her hair a little. He bent over and looked at the puzzle, pointing at a space. "Six should go there."

Hana scribbled a six in the space he'd indicated, and Kiba passed her, ignoring the triplets and Akamaru running back into the house, into the living room. Before he even stepped foot through the doorway, Hana cleared her throat. Without looking up at the two of them, she scribbled down a five in a space beside a four, and sighed.

"Kiba…what's this about clues you said this morning?"

Kiba turned and looked at her, his face going slightly pink. "…I forgot to tell you? M-Mom left me a scavenger hunt. She says by the end of it I'll be going home… I…I need to move on, and you all know I need to. If I can't move on, then living in this house will be too painful to continue."

Shino turned and stared at him, his eyes drifting to the floor. Kiba still had no intention of going back to the city. It was just aggravating. Why was he being so difficult? He'd thought that Kiba would change his mind when he said he needed him. That's what his father had told his mother when her father had died–that he needed her strong. Kiba was, apparently, a lot like his mother, so why wasn't it working?

Hana finally turned her head and looked at her younger brother. "Kiba. Why not go back to the city?" Her eyes softened. "You can't keep running away from–"

"Don't." The brunette stiffened, and his sister gave him a pitiful look, like she'd just been burned by a bowl of hot soup. Kiba looked her in the eye, shaking his head. "I don't need to explain my reasoning to you, Hana. So don't. Don't bring up things that don't need to be brought up." He turned as sharply as he had before and trotted down the steps to the table out back, turning and going straight for the grill.

Shino looked at Hana, slightly puzzled. He turned his eyes to Juugo, and Juugo looked back at him, something hiding in his eyes. Shino opened his mouth.

"…Why does it feel like I'm the only one who is not aware of some bigger picture?"

Hana shook her head, sighing and propping her cheek in her hand. She bit her lip and stabbed the puzzle in front of her, tearing at the paper with her pencil. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, like she was having a hard time keeping her anger from spilling over into her words.

"I'm sorry you feel that way. And yes, there's more to this whole thing that none of us are telling you. Don't get curious, please. I shouldn't discuss it with you behind Kiba's back. He'll tell you when he feels like it."

"When will that be?"

Hana pulled her hair back from her forehead with both hands, aggravated, and looked down at the puzzle. She looked almost like she wanted to cry. "I don't know, Shino. Just…go."

Shino accepted it and left, and Hana looked over at Juugo. She gave him a weak smile, like she was trying to keep it together; Juugo reached over and stroked her cheek.

"I hope it will be soon."

"I hope so, too, Juugo. It's so obvious they have potential, but it will all be useless if no one takes the first step."

––––––––––––––––––––

Kiba opened up the grill, and Shino walked over, looking at him as if he were a moron. "If it were in the grill, I would've noticed, Kiba. Besides, there's no way she'd put it in the grill. It'd be too easy to accidentally destroy."

Kiba bent down, inspecting every nook and cranny, checking around the propane tanks at the bottom. "She mentioned the fact that the chicken was barbequed. Obviously that's got to be significant, Shino. Maybe it's _on_ the grill."

"She also mentioned the actual tooth. You lost it in the chicken, not the grill. Try the table."

Realization slowly crept across the brunette's face and he turned toward his spot at the table. As he looked, it suddenly became obvious–_underneath_ the table. That made perfect sense. Duct tape would protect it for a while, and with it underneath the table, it would be even better protected from rain. He went to the bench closest to him and bent down. Sure enough, there was something at the other end, taped _right_ at his spot. He slid underneath the table backwards, his shirt tugging upward in his stretch back there.

Shino's chest tightened, and he walked over, staring at the marking on his side and at the rash on his belly. His breathing stopped, and anger seized him.

As Kiba stretched farther, he soon found himself looking directly up at it. He ripped the duct tape away, surprised to feel a bump in it. There were layers of duct tape, and he finally settled on just tearing the entire thing off.

He smiled. "Hey, Shino! I found–"

Shino's hand fell onto his stomach, the warmth of his skin warming his own bare skin. Kiba went red, frozen there–sitting on a bench, bent backward underneath a table. His breath caught in his throat, and a small squeak escaped his lips. Shino's hand moved, and the taller man's thumb stroked the bite.

"…Kiba…"

The brunette just stared at the underside of the table, desperately hoping his hard-on wasn't visible. This was bad enough. Shino already knew he was lying, and there was no reason to lie to someone he had no feelings for about who he slept with. With a hard-on, it would just–

"Kiba," Shino said again, more forcefully.

"Y-Yes?" The dog-lover finally managed.

In an instant, Shino's hand moved to his leg, and the taller man grabbed both legs, yanking him out from under the table. As he did so, the brunette's shoulder blades crashed into the bench, and let out a cry, falling flat to the ground and rolling over onto his side, cursing a blue streak.

"Fuck, damn, cunt, ass, shit _fuck_!! Shino! What the hell!?"

Shino grabbed him, rolling him over onto his back again. He moved himself so that his knee was pressing one of Kiba's legs into the ground. He pulled that shirt up again forcefully, tapping the bite none-too-gently. His eyebrows furrowed.

"You fucking liar."

"Wh-What?"

"You _lied_ to me."

Kiba went red, biting his lip and staring up at Shino pitifully, desperately trying to save his skin. "I…I _didn't_."

"Then what the _hell_ is this, huh?" He jabbed his finger against the bite–two tiny fang marks surrounded in a puffy pink circle; it had grown more pronounced over the course of the day–, and Kiba winced, gingerly whimpering something about that spot still hurting. "What do you call _this_?"

"…B-Bug bite."

"Bugs aren't _spiders_. This is a fucking spider bite. A _tarantula_, most likely, judging by the rash."

"…So? That doesn't mean I was with–"

"The fact that you lied about the bite does. The fact that you tried to deny you were with that fucker last night before I even accused you does. The fact that your _boxers_ are missing does! You actually think I'd believe that the elastic snapped and you just threw them on the side of the road somewhere?? I'm not stupid, Kiba! It's insulting when you come up with lies that obvious."

Kiba gripped the CD tighter, stuttering, his face bright red. "…S…So I was…but I didn't sleep with him." Shino seemed to relax, and Kiba's chest tightened. "Why do you _care_ if I slept with him, Shino? …Are you _jealous_?" He couldn't hide the amused smile on his face, and Shino glared at him.

"If you sleep with him, you'll want to stay here even more. I…" He clenched his fist, his lips pressing into a tight line, his body going rigid. "…I can't let that happen. You have to come back with me when all this is over, Kiba. You can't _stay_ here. I _need_ you back in the city. I told you this last night, and you ran off."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd get all neurotic on me when I did…"

Shino groaned. "That wasn't _you_. That was _me_. I have to work on that…" He lowered his head, staring at the grass beside Kiba's hand. "…I need to thank you, though, for helping me this morning."

"You already did."

"I swear to God, Kiba. Don't sleep with Kidoumaru. I mean _seriously_. He collects _spiders_. He's a freak and an arrogant prick. What the _hell_ do you even see in him?"

"You're hurting me."

Shino stared at him, and Kiba bit his lip, wincing slightly. The taller man scratched his face. "Wh-What?"

"Your knee is digging into my leg… It's very uncomfortable. You're hurting me, seriously."

"Oh…" He stood, helping Kiba to his feet. The second Kiba was on his feet, he pushed past the taller man and went immediately to the house.

For the longest time Shino stood there, fists clenching and unclenching, trying his hardest to deny what was so obviously jealously radiating in every fiber of his being, until the triplets dashed out the door, Akamaru easily overtaking them, Kuromaru falling behind listlessly, as if the poor old dog wanted nothing more than for the four of them to drown themselves in the pond out back.

Yes. He didn't want Kiba to sleep with Kidoumaru. That was clear. But…it wasn't _just_ because–no…it wasn't even _about_ Kiba realizing he wanted to stay here anymore.

It was all about Kiba not being anyone else's.

That was _it_.

Shino took a deep breath and slammed his fist into the bench, wood chips flying up into his face, getting into his mouth through those clenched teeth so he had to spit them out bitterly. He rubbed at the knuckle, which was now bruised and sore, and started to get uncomfortable again. He closed the grill and slammed his other fist into the bench, making the two sets of knuckles just as bruised and cut up as the other.

He stormed into the kitchen, past Hana and Juugo speaking in hurried whispers, and went directly to Kiba's bedroom. Kiba was sitting on his bed, face sheet white, eyes wide, listening to the next clue. After a brief moment, he gulped visibly and started to shake. The CD wrenched in the player and came to a halt, but the brunette didn't even budge. The anger that had seized Shino soon dissipated, instead getting replaced with concern.

"Kiba. What are you doing? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Kiba turned and looked at him, his bottom lip trembling. "…I…I know where the next clue is…" He licked his chapped lips and looked down, shuddering involuntarily and rubbing his hands against his arms.

"Where is it?"

"W…W-W-With…" He took a shallow breath and spoke again, his voice small and scared like a child's. "…with…the _bees_…"

"Really? Do you want _me_ to listen to the CD? You might be wrong… We can avoid it if we need to."

With trembling hands, Kiba removed the headphones and handed them to his friend, all the while shaking his head. "n-no…it's _there_…"

"I doubt your mother would put the clue someplace that would intentionally scare you, Kiba…"

He placed the headphones on his ears and pressed play. Immediately he heard shuffling in the grass, a faint buzzing in the background. As the grass shifted, she started to speak, the buzzing gradually growing louder and louder in the background.

"Do you remember when you were six, Kiba? That family moved in next door, and their hobby was raising bees to make honey." She cleared her throat, her hand brushing against the microphone as something very loud landed on it and started to buzz uncontrollably. As she brushed it, it flew off and the sound grew more distant, and she started to speak again.

"I told you not to get close. I told you you'd get hurt if you got too close, and what did you do? You jumped the fence and went walking right up like there was nothing wrong, right amidst a swarm of bees trying to protect their hives. You suffered fourteen bee stings and came running across the field, screaming bloody murder. I seriously thought you'd lost a finger by the way you were screaming. I don't know how you managed to run across the field, but I am so glad you did. Maybe you don't remember it, but a bee stung you right against your neck and it swelled up so that you could barely breathe anymore. You passed out and we had to take you to the hospital. For the next week you had those atrocious welts–two near your eyes, ten along your arms and legs, one right against your throat, and another on your back, at the base of the neck. I always told myself I'd help you overcome that fear of yours you wound up developing, but whenever I pictured how badly you were crying, I didn't have it in me. I never helped you conquer your fear, even after you'd flee in fear the second you saw anything with wings and something to hurt you with flying around your head…"

The buzzing was now atrociously loud, and she cleared her throat, sprayed something in the air. Buzzing filled Shino's ears, loud and blaring and making it unable to even think.

She sprayed something again, and the buzzing grew a bit more distant. She winced. "Ouch. And that's what _I_ get for coming up here to be stupid enough to hide your clue here. Either way, Kiba…" The grass started to shuffle and the buzzing grew more distant again.

"…Surely you've noticed the pattern. I gave you a gift with each clue. A chance to hear the dogs again with my first clue. A collar with the second clue. A reliving of that dearest memory with the third. A coat with the fourth. That baby tooth you lost with the fifth. Can you guess what I'm giving you with the sixth clue, my little pup? I'm letting you conquer this fear of bees and wasps and hornets you have. I'm going to tell you exactly where the next clue is, because I know the hardest part isn't going to be finding it. I plan on taping it right on top of one of the hives. The neighbors say they don't mind as long as it doesn't interfere with them getting the grate out to collect the honey, and they don't mind you going into their backyard to get it. They don't mind how much time it will take you. They'll try to help as much as possible, my little pup. …I don't know if you'll get your hands on the next clue, but if you do, my voice will be there to guide you some more."

The CD stopped and Shino took the headphones off his head. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when he noticed Kiba curling up defensively, shuddering and shutting his eyes tightly. He had his hands against his throat, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"Kiba."

Kiba looked over at him, eyes widening and staring at him with terror. "…she's right." He nodded his head a little and shut his eyes tightly, his hands pulling away from his throat and clenching into fists. "…i'm not going."

"You _have_ to, Kiba."

"No!" He shook his head violently. "No way in hell! That noise! I hate it so much! I can't even stand it when flies buzz around my head because it reminds me of bees!!"

"They don't attack unless threatened, Kiba. There's nothing to worry about."

"She taped it _right_ on top of the hive! The neighbors wear those beekeeper suits when they collect the honey! She expects me to just walk right up and take it!? No fucking way! This scavenger hunt ends now! I can't do it!"

Shino reached over, grabbing his throat gently. His thumb rested against the shorter man's Adam's apple, and he sighed. "Relax. There's plenty of time, Kiba. We can jump on it tomorrow if you want. We can do it a week from now if you want. Just…pace yourself."

Kiba took a deep breath, bringing his hands up to Shino's hand and clasping it. He pried it off his neck and nodded his head, his face still pale, his forehead breaking out into a cold sweat. "…a…alright…" He ran his hand through his hair, looking up at the ceiling and taking a gasp of air. "…I just… My throat tightens every time I hear that sound and I feel like I'm suffocating. I never told my mother just how bad it was… Looking back on it now, I probably should have. Even when I hear a fly buzzing around my head, my throat tightens. It's really bad, Shino. I'm terrified of them. It's a fear that won't go away, even _if_ I miraculously retrieved it from the top of that hive…"

He curled up, bringing his head onto his pillow, and nudged at Shino to get off the bed. "Just…leave me alone right now."

Shino nodded, and went to go walk the dogs in the meantime. Kiba's mind raced for a good thirty minutes before he finally decided he'd give it a go on Sunday. If it didn't work out then, he'd reach that block when he got there and decide what to do then… He finally stood and walked out, spying Hana in the kitchen. She was making a sandwich.

"Kiba. You need to eat. You didn't eat at noon. At least eat now. It's nearly one o'clock."

He grabbed the sandwich from her, taking a bite. When he went to go sit down, Hana took a spot right across from him. Before she even opened her mouth, he knew the lunch conversation would not be a pleasant one.

"Kiba, you can't stay here forever," she whispered.

"…I can. And I will. I'm not going back to the city."

She looked at him, her anger flaring. "…You can't mean that. I would give _anything_ to live out here instead of the city, but I know I have to go back and work because of my job. It's where I live; it's my home! And then Mom just gives and gives and gives, not even expecting you to stay here, and you accept it so easily! She didn't give you this house so you could run away and hide here!"

He glared. "I'm not hiding!"

"You are! Shit, Kiba! Shino's doing so much and–"

"**Don't **bring him into this, Hana. I swear to god, I may just get up and leave without eating this sandwich."

"…You're _still _selfish. How do you think Shino feels? He wants you to go back with him. Why haven't you taken his feelings into consideration?"

––––––––––––––––––

The triplets went running off to the kennels, Akamaru running off to show off again, and Shino stretched a little, walking to the steps of house. Before he could even hit the first step, he heard Kiba's voice loud and clear, full of bitterness and resentment and warning.

"I swear to god, I may just get up and leave without eating this sandwich."

Hana's voice was next, though hers was more pleading. "…You're _still _selfish. How do you think Shino feels? He wants you to go back with him. Why haven't you taken his feelings into consideration?"

There was a loud crash as Kiba shot upward, probably knocking down his chair in the process.

"God damn it, Hana! Don't you think I've done that!? I do that every fucking _day_!! Yeah, yeah, yeah, he needs me! That's great for him! You don't understand how painful it is looking at him and knowing his feelings will only ever be friendship for me!!–" Shino froze, heat rising to his cheeks, his chest practically exploding. "–It physically _hurts_, Hana! I don't want to go back to the city only to suffer day in and day out! He's straight; he'll never return my feelings! You're so _lucky_ having such an easy relationship with Juugo! Do you know how many times I wished it was that easy with Shino!? Fuck, Hana! Get off my fucking back about this!"

Hana's voice squeaked as she fought for words, and it was obvious she was hurting for him. "I…I never thought you _still_ felt like this, Kiba… I mean…back when you got drunk and came home a mess…I sort of figured…but…but do you _really_ hurt that badly even now? Even after he came all the way down here for you with Akamaru?"

Kiba's voice was quiet, and he sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I _always _hurt, Hana…a…and him coming down here just makes it worse. The fact that he treats me so kindly just makes it more obvious there's nothing between us… If he was mean I wouldn't really mind, since I'm used to that…but…I'm not used to kindness like that… For a while I thought I only liked him because of Kidoumaru…but…but Kidoumaru's drastically different… Sure Kidoumaru cared about me…but he…there was just…something about him… It wasn't right with him. But…it…well, even though there hasn't been anything romantic between us…it just… It just feels _right_ with Shino…"

Shino looked down at the grass, fighting to keep himself from walking right in there and agreeing. He couldn't just… Kiba was a _guy_. He was just so different from girls. He needed tact; he needed… He needed time to adjust. He still couldn't get over the fact that he felt that way about Kiba…so…he had to squash his feelings before they made their way to the surface. If there was even the slightest slip, things would move too fast for him and he'd feel suffocated and flee. He couldn't have that happen.

But at least now he knew Kiba wasn't in love with Kidoumaru.

Kiba was _his_.

"…Thanks for the sandwich. I'm sorry I'm doing exactly what I threatened you with, Hana, but I've lost my appetite."

"Kiba?"

"Hmmm?"

"…Don't you find it ironic? When you first met him you thought he was a freak, despite the fact that he was easy to talk to…"

"…Well…Shino _is_ a freak. He's bizarre, and he befriended roaches, and he's got an ulcer from stress despite the fact that he's so calm and collected on the outside… He's really caring and distant all at once. He's incredibly…cool. He's a jackpot, Hana. I highly doubt I'm the first man to take interest in him. He's just so…unique, you know?"

Shino's cheeks darkened, and he smiled a little, his chest warming.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to my room. I just…need to do some thinking about things. When Shino gets back from walking the dogs, tell him I'm thinking about trying to get the sixth clue tomorrow, but for today I don't want to attempt it, okay?"

"Alright."

––––––––––––––––––

Dinner was horrendous. There was enough tension in the room to cause an aneurysm. Hana was shoving food into her mouth like it was her last meal, and Juugo was desperately trying to make sure she was getting the best nutrition for the baby. Kiba was eating in silence, and Shino was refusing to look anywhere else but at his plate.

"Hana, try and eat a little more vegetables for our baby. That's too much meat."

"This is an Inuzuka baby, Juugo. Meat is practically all we need to survive. Get your hand off my plate! I _will_ stab your hand with this fork!"

"Hana, _please_ at least eat the spinach I made just for you. It helps keep you regular. And– Ow! You just _stabbed_ my hand!"

"I told you not to put your hand near my plate! You're not the type of person who tries to take food away from dogs while they're eating, are you??"

"You're not a dog, Hana. You're a human being. Oh! Thank you, dear… Now just eat some more of that spinach and– Ow!"

"What did I tell you!?"

"Sorry. I forgot. I'll keep my hands off your plate. Kiba, don't you agree that your sister needs to eat more vegetables?"

"……er." Kiba's eyes fell to his plate, and he shook his head, unable to answer that.

Hana answered. "Mom rarely ate vegetables when she was pregnant with Kiba. They made her extremely nauseous, Juugo. She wound up having to switch to vitamins the entire time. The only vegetables she had no trouble eating were cucumbers and squash."

"I need to make you squash, then."

"No. That was just Mom's weird pregnancy quirk. I'm not getting nauseous at all, Juugo."

He grabbed at his hair, growing a bit frazzled. "Th-Then _why_ aren't you eating them?? Please, please, _please_ stop eating your weight in meat!"

Kiba stood–he couldn't take any more of this–, putting his plate over in the sink and sighing heavily. He walked back to his room, absolutely dreading Sunday. It was going to be hell on earth. He stumbled into his room and hit the bed, groaning and looking up at the ceiling.

A few hours later, Hana walked past Kiba's bedroom door and waved toward him. She yawned. "Good night, Kiba. I hope you feel better in the morning."

Kiba chuckled to himself, putting his hands over his eyes. "I hope so, too. I hope I wake up healthy on Monday and _not_ covered in welts…"

Juugo entered his line of vision and grabbed Hana around the waist, spinning her around a little. She laughed, kissing his cheek and grabbing his neck, and he carried her into the master bedroom, yawning himself.

After a brief moment, Kiba could vaguely hear her giggling a little. She clearly shouted, "Juugo! My ribs are ticklish! Let me change for bed and you can go back to the couch where you belong! Stop! The baby's not enough weeks old to start kicking yet! Don't put your ear up against my stomach! It's bad enough I'm still bloated from dinner! Yes, I'm an outie, now stop playing with my bellybutton!" She burst out laughing again, her voice lowering and saying something to Juugo that Kiba couldn't hear, but was probably something about him having to wait his turn until the baby got out of her first.

He glared up at the ceiling, suppressing the urge to gag. Ugh. Why did his sister have to have so much luck in love? Juugo was her _first_ boyfriend since college! Here he was…stuck with a straight guy who was only his best friend and nothing else. He'd had so many flings but nothing serious since college. Why was he the one not getting anything serious? Anything longer than a week or so?

"Hey, Kiba. Give me time, alright? I'll come around, so don't give up and move on."

Kiba's eyes shot to the door, surprised to see Shino just walking by the door. He went red, sitting up. Did…Did Shino just _say_ that to him? After a while, Shino walked back, frowning a little.

"Oh, I completely forgot you were in here since dinner. Well, goodnight, Kiba. Sorry about the disturbance this morning. I should be able to go to sleep now…so I won't be waking you up in the middle of the night. Oh, and Hana made sure to fill me in on your plans tomorrow." He smiled, not even noticing Juugo drift off to the living room behind him. "Pleasant dreams, okay? You'll need them for conquering your fears…"

Kiba nodded his head, his cheeks burning hot, and Shino left. He fell back into his pillow, wringing his hands angrily. Shit! Wishful thinking was making him imagine things now! He could've _sworn_ Shino had admitted if he tried harder, he could get him in a serious relationship… Man…what he wouldn't give to have Shino.

It was too soon to speak his feelings to Shino. He'd only known the man six weeks or so. Experience told him that if he revealed his feelings, Shino would probably break off the friendship immediately. Like that one jerk in college. Inaho was straight, and the second he admitted his feelings to him, that jerk cut off the friendship immediately. And then his crush's asshole of a friend–fucking Komugi, that bearded jackass–had to come over and ask him out on a date… Nearly a full year with that bastard and he broke up with him for being "clingy". That _still_ made his blood boil.

Was Shino the type of person who'd accuse him of being clingy?

He wanted Shino here with him. Shino was like therapy to him. Shino was nice and showing much more affection than he had before in the city. He liked it. He liked Shino comforting him. But as much as he enjoyed it…it hurt him deeply. Every time Shino tried to get him to calm down, every touch and every look made his chest tear in two. Now, more than ever, he wanted Shino to leave. It was so complicated. He wanted Shino near him just as much as he wanted him to leave. Where was the middle ground?

How far did he have to push before Shino finally left for good?

How could he get Shino to go back to the city without him?

How could he prevent him from leaving?

Kiba put his hands over his eyes, letting out an aggravated sigh. Those words he'd imagined repeated in his head like a mantra. Despite the fact that he'd just imagined them, they were still comforting. Twice as more-so than Deidara and Sasori giving him advice and telling him to not give up. It was if Shino had asked him not to give up himself.

Kiba sighed, finding sleep take him.

Over in the guest room, Shino was holding his pillow and staring off into space, his cheeks bright red. The only condolence to his little blunder was that Kiba had believed his ploy. He still couldn't believe he'd said that to Kiba. He had meant to tell him goodnight, but those words spilled out instead. He'd continued on walking, trying to play it off like it never happened, and he even went so far as to go back and make it seem like he'd forgotten to say goodnight when he passed the door. By the looks of it, Kiba believed he'd just imagined it, judging by how he was blushing so profusely.

It still didn't change the fact that he had meant every word of it. Eventually he'd feel ready to tell Kiba how he felt. He'd procure a confession if he so felt like it, or he could wait for Kiba to tell him on his own accord; the plus side of that was that by the time Kiba was ready to admit it, he probably would be ready to accept him. This was just like knowing Kiba was gay, only now he had to keep an even bigger secret from him.

As much as he wanted Kiba to be his and his alone, he still wasn't quite ready to take the measures to make it happen. Until then, everything was open to chance: Kiba could move on, someone could steal the brunette right out from under him, _anything_ was possible. His one wish was for Kiba to still feel the same way about him by the time he was ready to take the relationship further.

But enough about that.

With Kiba hurting just being around him like he'd told Hana, how the hell was he supposed to convince him to go back to the city?


	28. The Scavenger Hunt pt2

_Whee! I broke the 200,000 word barrier last chapter! Huzzah! As for why this chapter is so short...it's because I'm too sick to care right now. Somehow I managed to have a bladder infection, and as such, my immune system ignored everything else to tend to that and now I've got a bitch of a cold. Coughing, sneezing, hacking up shit almost all the time. UGH. It SUCKS. (I had blood instead of snot, it was so gross.) I've been sneezing every ten minutes (That was yesterday and the day before; it's starting to get better with the antibiotics working on the infection.), and I had to skip school three days. Ugh, I'm pretty sure I missed a test I can't make up in government, but that's alright. I would've failed it anyway. _

_I am so miserable right now, I've been sitting and watching the Naruto dubs like crazy. (The dubs?! Are you trying to prolong your misery?!) All in the Rescue Sasuke arc, naturally. I gotta say...I used to think they did a good job on Naruto's voice...until I listened to it longer than thirty minutes in a row. Oh my goodness, I'm trying so hard to keep my sanity right now. His voice is so AGGRAVATING when listening to it hour after hour. I have to keep taking breaks and it STILL doesn't get better. Kiba's voice made up for it though. Fun fact! A-kon was really fun, and Beth literally (as in, knocked into him because neither were looking where they were going) ran into the voice actor for Kiba once. He was staring at her, and when she went, "Oh! You're--" he gave her this strained look. And then, all of a sudden, she shook her head and went, "Wait, nevermind." Right before she turned to walk away, he gave her this look like he couldn't believe she didn't recognize him and that he was glad she didn't at the same time. Two minutes after she walked away, she suddenly realized who it was and nearly had a heart attack. It was hilarious; she was regaling the story to me and complaining about how she could have so easily just barked right in his face and made him horribly uncomfortable if she'd only known who he was (She perfected Akamaru's voice almost perfectly, you see.). Another fun fact! We went to this cold-reading for the voice actors of Funimation, and he did Kiba's voice as an example one of my friends asked for. Something about acting for the character. He gave this big long speech about how it's not changing your voice so much as putting something else into it. He used Kiba's voice as an example because it's not different from his regular voice, except for the spunkiness and energy in it. Neat, huh? He was also the narrator for Dragonball Z. I can't look at Kiba the same way again since. Just...imagining him speaking in that deep bass just gives me fits of the giggles. It really makes me want to take a clip of Naruto and sync up Kiba's voice with one of the ending credits of Dragonball Z. Kiba: "ON THE NEXT EPISODE OF DRAGON, BALL, Z!!" Goodness gracious! -falls over laughing-  
_

_Anyway, about the earlier chapters…I'm actually appalled I didn't catch this after reading it over four times to make sure. In Chapter Twenty-five, Kiba steps out of the shower TWICE. As if he's got this after-image waiting for him to come to a conclusion before following after him. Just like…_

"_Hey, what are you still doing in the shower? I stepped out ages ago!"  
"Oh, right! Whoopsie. Sorry about that, Kiba." And then the after-image just steps out after him, phasing into his body. _

_What the hell? How could I have missed something as gigantically obvious as that? No one just steps out of the shower, thinks and stares at themselves in the mirror for a while, and then steps out of the shower _again_. That defies _so_ many laws of space and time._

_Ha ha. I could see that working with Sakon and Ukon, but not Kiba. Just like when I went back and read over Ten Step Program–I have so many errors in the last two chapters, I'm surprised no one's spoken up about the sudden drop in quality. –doof–_

_And in Chapter Twenty-one, I mention how Kimimaro is holding a pair of hospital footies. Why is he holding them? Is he going to keep them?? Surely he's been there enough times to have a pile forming in his room. Surely he's got enough for whatever footy-fortress he seems to want to make. (Although, I will admit those things are warmer than most socks. They also must taste delicious or something. I wear them once before my dresser eats them and I have to wait another couple of months before my mother goes back to the hospital for some trivial reason.)_

_But back to this chapter:_

_Ever since I made Kiba afraid of bees, I've wanted to add these characters in here. To be honest, this portion STILL goes back to my grandparent's house. Their neighbors had beehives in their backyard and collected honey and beeswax for candle-making and selling their own honey. It was a hobby to them. I never met those neighbors, but if I had, I imagine they would've looked scary. I had dreams as a kid when I would go over to their house (I am deathly afraid of bees and wasps–wasps especially) and discover they were giant bees. Seriously. Giant effing bees that could talk and make scrambled eggs and pancakes._

_It's ironic that Shino is my favorite character because I am just as intrigued with bugs as I am terrified of them. Roaches are the least threatening to me (except when they fly), so maybe that's it? But seriously. Wasps and bees and spiders and ants. That's about it. Spiders aren't _as_ bad because I can stand them, just not when they're poisonous. And it never stopped me from dreaming about them. _

_Does anyone remember that movie with giant rabbits that came out of rabbit holes in the ground and killed people?_

_Imagine dreaming about giant ants that randomly take people back into their colonies. Imagine them having one of those holes _right_ next to the driveway of your house. Imagine them walking right into your door and taking you back with them, not breaking through the door, but somehow magically finding a way to open it using the knob. It was like that rabbit movie and "They!" all rolled into one._

_Anyway. Enjoy._

_I got tired of all of this beating around the bush with Kiba. So here. A present for you all–a deliriously happy Kiba for once. (I can just _smell_ the tension in the coming chapters.) Neil Diamond's Delirious Love started to play while I was writing him laughing with glee, and so_…_I decided to actually use it in the story. It fit the mood SO well. I was absolutely surprised it started playing. It was so perfect._

* * *

**Must Love Dogs**  
_Scene 28_

Kiba woke bright and early, walking out into the kitchen and patting his sister on the back. "Thanks for telling Shino the other day."

She smiled and looked up at him, glad he seemed to be in a good mood. One look into his eyes told her he was just as scared as he had been when he got the news. Her face fell, but she tried to keep her spirits up for his sake. "Tell Shino what?"

"That I was going to wait for today to face my fears. He came in before he went to bed and told me you told him. I'm sure you could've ignored it assuming he'd assume I wanted to go do it today, but you didn't, and I'm thankful for that. Thank you for telling him, Hana." Without another word he left, and Hana finally turned to her fiancée, a puzzled look on her face.

"…I didn't tell Shino, did I?"

Juugo looked back at the hallway, shaking his head. "No, you didn't."

They both went back to eating, each nodding their heads.

"Shino knows how he feels now," they both said in unison. It was Juugo who added, "It's only a matter of time before Kiba finds out how Shino feels."

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"What the hell did you say to him?"

Kidoumaru turned and looked at the far more caring twin glaring daggers at him, as if he'd try and do whatever pissed him off again. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Ukon," he mumbled. Ukon wouldn't sit for that, and he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, making quite a few people in the computer store look his way.

"He thinks _you're_ the one he dated for three years in high school! What the _fuck_ did you say to him!?"

Kidoumaru smiled a sly smile, running his tongue over his teeth seductively. "What's wrong, Ukon? Can't stand a little bit of manipulation? That's what the bastard did to Kiba during high school… You sure did accept your brother's–"

His jaw was met with a fist, and Ukon shoved him against the wall. "My brother may be a manipulative asshole, but he's my brother, damn it!! _You_ don't have that privilege! And yes he manipulated Kiba, but he didn't take advantage of anyone like you took advantage of him!" Tears worked their way to his eyes. "What the hell is your _problem_, Kidoumaru!? He…" He wiped at his eyes as tears started to fall. "He says he slept with you, for fuck's sake! That's lower than low!! Even for a nerd like you!! He's going through a lot right now and you just…"

"You have Kimimaro to thank for that. Your precious little friend is the one that sent him to my house."

"Not with the intention of what happened, you asshole." He turned and started stalking toward the door. "If he'd known what you'd do, he never would've sent my brother over there. Sakon is…Sakon can't even remember everything clearly! The last thing he needs is you confusing him even further!! Just because you're jealous of Kiba, it gives you no right to–"

"I've gotten over Kiba. I've moved on."

Ukon spun on his heels, giving Kidoumaru a horrified look. "No way… N-N-No fucking way! You're staying the hell away from my brother, you jackass!!" He stormed over, grabbed Kidoumaru by the collar of his polo shirt and hissed lowly into his ear.

"You take a step near him and I'm killing you. He's too delicate and will believe anything right now. If he tells me something else that doesn't add up, I'm going to know it was you."

"You owe me this, Ukon."

"I don't owe you _shit_. It was Sakon that hated you first. I hated you second. You remember that. When his memory returns, he _will_ hate you twice as much as I do now…just like he used to."

He shoved him back against the counter and stormed out of the building, back to the hospital, back to where Sakon had arrived around noon the previous day, talking about things that had never happened, telling him how Kidoumaru had made sure he knew everything. Of course, all of those were lies.

He wasn't sure which man was more of a bastard:

His brother, who manipulated Kiba to gain some sense of control;

Or Kidoumaru, who manipulated Sakon for his own gain.

He loved Kiba dearly…but Sakon twice as much. He didn't care what Sakon had done to Kiba in the past–all the scars and heart-ache didn't even _compare_ to taking advantage of someone who had lost everything. Kidoumaru was the bastard here. Clearly. Even though…

Even though Sakon had said Kidoumaru would help him get a new start.

The second he got back to the hospital and stared at Sakon waving at him pathetically, scratching his head in an attempt to remember something about the man, he couldn't help but start shaking again.

He didn't want Sakon to have a new start. He wanted his brother _back_. He knew that made him selfish…but…still. He was tired of being patient; he was tired of _waiting_! He wanted Sakon to remember him. He was the _only_ one Sakon hadn't started remembering even the least.

What…did that mean?

Sakon cared as much about him as he cared about that sorry bastard, right??

Right!?

–––––––––––––––––––––

Shino glanced over at Kiba shuddering as he knocked on the door–Kiba, not him. Kiba was refusing him to help in any way. It seemed he was determined to conquer his debilitating fear of bees by himself. A loud thud erupted on the other side of the door, and a woman's voice sounded loudly from inside.

"Damn it! I told him to stop putting his work boots on the stairs!"

A few more thuds resounded before the door finally opened. Through the screen door, Shino's eyes widened at the sight of a very pretty woman with cropped brown hair that flared out from her face–she looked like a bang-less version of Mary Tyler Moore. A strand of hair fell in her face, and she brushed it from her eyes, eyes warming.

"Oh, Kiba…"

She opened the screen door and grabbed for his hand. The second their skin met, Kiba shuddered reflexively and shook his head. "Look, Suzumebachi," he whispered. "I…I'm aware how happy you are to see me, but could I just…" He swallowed a lump in his throat, finally turning his terrified eyes to meet hers. "You know why I'm here."

She nodded her head, taking a cautionary glance toward Shino. "Yes, I assume you're looking for the clue your mother left with us? Um…hello. I don't…think we've met." She extended her arm to him, giving him a warm smile, her cheeks going slightly pink.

"I'm, um…Kamizuru. Suzumebachi Kamizuru. My father raises bees, as Kiba's probably explained to you."

"He…" Shino took her hand–actually quite interested in her–, his attachment to Kiba forgotten momentarily. "He mentioned your father raised bees and that he had a son, but…he never mentioned a daughter. Aburame, Shino. My…uh…my father actually raises worms."

Her eyes perked, her cheeks flushing. "Oh! It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shino! I don't blame Kiba for not mentioning me. We went through awkward adolescence together, and, him being my neighbor, I sort of had a crush on him, though he was three years younger than me… Your father raises worms, eh? So, does he sell them for bait or to gardeners?"

"Both, actually."

Kiba groaned loud enough for the two to hear, and Suzumebachi went bright red, laughing. "Oh, where are my manners? Come in, you two! I'll make some tea!"

They both took their spot in the living room, sinking into an obnoxiously floral-patterned sofa that was softer than soft and in tatters. Shino looked over at the brunet, smiling lightly.

"So, did you play with _her _when you were younger?"

Kiba groaned. "No. Not exactly. I played with her younger brother, but she was always chasing me around the playground. That woman has never had any shame." He shot Shino a dirty look. "And as long as _you're_ staying in _my_ house, _you_ can't play with her if I don't."

Shino smirked, knowingly. "Are you implying that you think I want to sleep with her? Because, just because she's a bit charming, she is _not_ my type. I don't like brunettes."

"TenTen is a brunette."

"She was the only one, and I was only interested in her because I was lonely, remember?"

"Right," Kiba said, waxing sarcastic, feeling like he'd been stabbed in the chest with a hot poker. "Gentlemen prefer _blondes_, like _Ino_."

"Oh, it's alright. I've already found someone I'm far more interested in than any of the other women at work."

Kiba turned, his eyes going wide. "You better not be talking about Hana. She's the only woman outside of work."

"Not…exactly. Your replacement is pretty. Her name is Sakura Haruno. She was a friend of TenTen's, and she's quite a character. If it weren't for her encouragement, I wouldn't have gotten the stones to come down here for you."

"…My…r-replacement?" Kiba went pale, looking down at his clenched hands resting between his knees idly. "Oh…she…she sounds nice."

"She is. But she's not as fun as you, of course. So I'd really like it if you faced your fears and came back to the city with me."

Kiba went red and looked back at the taller man, biting his lip. "I…I already told you, Shino. I'm not going back."

He leaned over toward him, frowning. "Why? Are you afraid of leaving here and getting homesick and hurting all the time?"

Kiba opened his mouth to lie, but Suzumebachi cut him off as she walked in with a tray of glasses. A pitcher of iced tea sat in the very center, and toward the side was a little jar filled with a golden substance. The tray was set on the coffee table in front of them; she removed one of the glasses from the tray and poured in some tea, making sure to add in a spoonful of the golden substance into her tea.

She took a sip, smiling sweetly at them. "A strongly suggest you try some of our honey with your tea. Honey is _very_ healthy, despite the fact that most people assume it's not because it is sweet. Honey actually helps with digestion, wouldn't you know." She took another sip of her tea, turning to Kiba. "I can get a jar for your sister, if you'd like, Kiba. When my mother was pregnant, she was a honey-eating fiend. It really helped keep her regular as well as help her digest food easier, too. Her favorite food while pregnant was honey lemon slices."

Shino snorted, pouring himself a glass to be polite, despite the fact that he wasn't particularly thirsty. He dipped a spoonful into the honey and stirred it into his tea, taking a sip. "Juugo's busy trying to keep her regular with spinach."

She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. "Spinach!? Well, I can't see why he'd try spinach when he can easily use honey. It's far more agreeable to the tongue than spinach." Her face was set, and she was resolute in her decision. "Before you leave, allow me to give you one of our fresh jars. Hana will appreciate it." She turned to Kiba, her eyes softening.

"Your mother was such an amazing woman, Kiba. I envied you so much for having a mother like her. Of course, so did _all_ of the children who knew her. I'm sure most of the mothers in town also envied her, though they'd never tell."

Kiba groaned, starting to fidget. "I'm well aware. Stop talking about her and–"

"So, Shino, I'm sorry my father and brother aren't here. My father is currently down at the fire station, where he works, and my brother is at his job at the brewery across town." She laughed lightly, going pink. "So, tell me more about _yourself_!"

Shino stared at her for the longest time, his eyes slowly turning toward Kiba. The brunet fumed, his face blaring red and his eyes blazing. Knowing he couldn't just up and tell Suzumebachi to back the fuck up from his man, he instead looked away pathetically, refusing the tea as his means of rejection. Shino frowned, taking a sip of his tea and looking at her.

"We're here for Kiba, not for me. I'd appreciate it if we got down to business. Which hive is the one the CD is sitting on top of?"

She looked a bit put-off, but cleared her throat and answered him anyway. "We have four now. There were only two when Kiba was a child, but now there are four. It is on the fourth, one of the first, directly next to the fence." She looked over at Kiba, her eyes turning sharper. "I believe that's also the spot where Kiba was first stung…"

Kiba shuddered involuntarily and looked over at Shino for some sort of support. Shino put a hand on his shoulder and sighed. Noticing something akin to caring between both of them, Suzumebachi's cheeks flushed and she put a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, I'm sorry…are…are you two…_together_?"

Kiba turned his head, the look in his eyes desperation, as if he wanted that to be the case. Shino's eyes were covered by sunglasses so she had no idea what he was thinking, but he shook his head, snorting a little.

"No. We're not."

Kiba nodded. "He's straight."

Her eyes misted over for a split second, staring at the trench coat-wearing man sitting next to Kiba. A smile soon made its way to her face, and she stood, laughing lightly. "Well, that's…eh…" She looked at Kiba briefly, seeing his eyes clearly told her to back off, and she turned her eyes to Shino. "Shino, perhaps you're right. Let's let Kiba loose in the backyard and watch his progress from the patio…"

Shino glanced at Kiba, smiling sheepishly. "You don't want me helping you at all, right?"

Kiba looked between the two of them before he finally relented. After all, Shino didn't like brunettes, so there was nothing to worry about. He had a thing for his…replacement…so that… Well, he'd already replaced him, hadn't he? Just as long as it wasn't Suzumebachi, he had no problem with it. He nodded his head a bit stiffly.

"Right. I have to do this…on my own…"

"I have a beekeeping suit if you want," Suzumebachi started.

"N…No… I don't think that's what my mother had in mind…"

She gave him a wary look. "Yes, but I'm sure she didn't have you dying in mind, either. Our new hives are slightly more aggressive, and we have to spray a chemical that smells like the queen away from the hive in order to avoid them swarming…"

"What!? Why would anyone keep deadly creatures as pets!?"

"They aren't _pets_, Kiba. They are how we make a living. Do you want the chemical or not? That's what your mother used to place it there."

"…I…I think I do…"

––––––––––––––––––––

Shino stared at the man across the yard, toward the fence, nearly halfway down the acre of land behind the Kamizuru house. He frowned lightly, turning to the woman. "…He's been there for thirty minutes–that very same spot. Are you sure we shouldn't go help him?"

She smiled at him seductively; she'd been desperately trying to figure out a way to get his attention off of her ex-neighbor for the longest time. When he looked over at her, she decided to make her move. "…Shino…did you know that there are actually many female bees in a hive, but only the queen is sexually mature?"

"…Yes. I'm aware. What does that have to do with Kiba?"

She frowned a little, crossing her hands over her chest. "…You're not straight, are you?"

"I really don't see what this has to do with anything…"

"Here I am flirting with you, and you're still thinking about _him_!" She licked her lips seductively, leaning over the table and grabbing his hand. "What do I have to do to get you to notice me?"

He gave her a strained look and tried to pull out of her grip. "Look, I'm _not_ interested in you. And I'm not interested in _Kiba_, either. Will you just–"

She seized his face and rammed her lips against his, forcing him into an intimate kiss. As he struggled to get away, she straddled him in his seat. He pushed on her chest to get her off, but inadvertently squeezed her breasts, further exasperating the situation. She was gross and forward–much like Karin had been, now that he thought about it–, and he seriously had no attraction to her whatsoever, and, even if her kiss was relatively passionate and felt good, he…

He deepened the kiss, making her go absolutely weak. He curled his finger around her hair, pulling back for only a brief moment to see her eyes glazed over with lust and desperation.

With a final shove, he finally managed to push her off of him.

Shino stood immediately, ignoring her protests, and walked down the half-acre toward Kiba.

–––––––––––––––––––

It hurt way more than it should have, he managed to tell himself. Standing frozen in his spot, feeling the air heavy with that distant buzz, that heady droning on and on and on and on, through one ear and out the other–he couldn't stand it. It was a miracle he hadn't passed out. The miracle was simple–he'd managed to detract his attentions away from the buzzing little armies long enough to catch quick glances at the two of them sitting there, drinking tea, on the patio.

Shino was more neutral, staring at him intently. Though he couldn't see through the sunglasses on the man's face, he could figure out what he was thinking–

'_Should I go over there and help him? I can't do that, though, because he said he didn't want it. If he stays there too long, I may just have to go and give him a push. Why hasn't he moved yet?'_

But…_her_… Suzumebachi was staring dead-pan at the man sipping tea on the patio with her. At first it had been simply staring, but now, every time he caught a quick glance over at her, he noticed a quick grazing of tongue over top lip, a twitch of a smirk, a leaning over the table ever so slightly–just to imagine what it would be like to touch those strong, broad shoulders of his.

The droning disappeared and soon it was all he could do to not run back up there, grab Shino from her, and dash out of the house. To hell with these clues! He had known her since they were kids, and he'd known Ukon had fallen prey to her repeatedly in middle school. He and Sakon had personally seen to it that the bitch got a severe rash the next day by putting itching powder in her sheets and rubbed poison ivy all over there when her brother invited them over one day.

She now had her sights set on Shino, and that was the _one_ person who was completely off limits. Truth be told, he actually liked the thought that Shino hadn't found anyone since TenTen. But Suzumebachi was like TenTen, in a way, and he could barely keep his rage from dissipating. Oh, what he could've given to sock her right in the jaw at the moment.

'_Focus, Kiba. Get these damn clues, you idiot! The faster you get them, the faster you can leave that woman's preying eyes! And shame on you for wanting to punch her lights out! Mom is rolling in her grave!!'_ he screamed in his mind.

He made a motion to finally move, but the monotonous buzzing started in again and he found it difficult to breathe. Oh…he really wished he hadn't refused Shino's help now. He could easily just go and ask for it, couldn't he? He'd had enough of this damn pride–he was about to piss his pants if he stayed here any longer!!

He turned his eyes to start his trek back to the patio, but froze in place when he caught sight of them: Her arms were around him as she sat, straddling him in his chair; his hands squeezing her breasts, his lips pressed against hers even more desperately.

He felt like he'd shattered into a million pieces, and he turned around, back to the bees. If he could just… He wanted to leave, right now, so badly. Shino was _kissing_ that woman, and they both looked as if they were about to just start _fucking_ right there on the patio! He couldn't stand it! His mind was spiraling into lunacy at the very thought!

With a firm squeeze on the plunger in his hands the queens'–there were four in all–scents went swirling into the air, dancing on a rather sharp wind that blew past a bit too quickly. In an instant, the bees left their hives and started to cluster around the scent, following it anxiously, desperately. There were a few more bees located near the hives–the ones that had been on the inside, around the actual queens, and that's when he spotted it–

The CD sitting on that hive near the fence.

He made a mad dash toward it, wincing as one of the bees that had stayed behind stung him on the arm. The stinger jabbed into his skin, pulling out all of the internal organs with the bee as it did, but even that thought wasn't satisfying enough.

"Fucking duct tape!" he exclaimed, his fingers prying at it uselessly. He went toward the edge, pulling up at the sticky adhesive, and it was doing its job a little too well. He could hear the droning picking up speed and growing closer as they started making their way back, and he grew more desperate.

He felt like screaming like a little girl right now, quite frankly.

He clawed at the tape, ripping away at it until finally it gave way completely. He grabbed the CD, but was frozen at the sound of buzzing floating about his ears. The air had grown thick with bees, the sun blocked out by the sheer amount of them.

Once, twice, four times. They were stinging him now!

He threw the CD over the fence uselessly and ran, the bees stinging at him, angrily. He made his way across the acre, a trail of bees swarming him, angrily chasing him for disturbing their hives.

"You people are fucking–god damn it! SHIT!! You people are fucking nuts!! OW!! I fucking _hate_ bees!! Get the hell off of me you fucking demon flies!!"

As if in answer to his request, the bees withdrew, back to their hives…back to a certain scent that had lured them back home.

Kiba fell to his knees, panting wildly, and he could've sworn that one had just stuck him right in the neck, just like he had the first time. So he fell to pieces the second his knees hit the ground. He grabbed his neck, knowing the inevitable would happen–he'd have difficulty breathing, and then his throat would swell up and he'd be forced to go to the hospital and have a rigorous dosage of antihistamines and anti-inflammatory injections applied. He could feel his airway closing, and he felt his vision growing dark.

A hand clamped down on his shoulder, and the voice that broke him from his near-death trance was anything but calm like it usually was.

"Kiba, you scared the shit out of me. Don't do that _ever_ again!"

Kiba turned, air filling his lungs, tears making their way to his eyes. "Sh…Shino?"

"You idiot. You dropped the chemicals! Why didn't you just spray it again??" The man grabbed him by the shoulder, pulling him back to the patio. "God damn it, Kiba. God-fucking-damn it…"

He ached, the stings beginning to swell lightly. He'd been attacked by a spider yesterday and now he was attacked by bees. If he didn't watch himself, he'd be getting attacked by worms next. That wasn't too much of a stretch, seeing as Shino's dad _raised_ worms.

"Shino… I…I threw the CD over the fence… I wasn't thinking."

"You're _damn_ right you weren't thinking."

Kiba frowned as Shino shoved Suzumebachi out of the way and left the house without another word. The second they were out of the doors, the taller man's mood softened considerably. He sighed, grabbing Kiba's wrist and leading him back toward the house, where Juugo and Hana had been watching from the table out back.

"…Even _with_ chemicals that ward them off, it's stupid to underestimate them. You should've taken Suzumebachi up on her offer for the beekeeping suit. Now look at you–you've got stings all over your arms…"

"And…m…my neck!?" Kiba pulled himself out of Shino's grip, desperately trying to find any sign of a sting on his most tender area above the belt. He'd felt one, he knew it. But where was it!? He ran his hand along his neck, surprised to find nothing. He pressed harder, his voice distorting as he pressed a bit too hard on his throat. "Where is it!? I swear I felt one!!"

Shino sighed and threw the brunet's arms off of the neck, running his hand along it and shaking his head. "No. None on your neck, so quit worrying about it." He grabbed Kiba's arm, picking at one of the stingers that had lodged itself into his flesh. He tossed it to the ground and let go immediately.

"Come on, Hana has a surprise for you when we get inside."

Kiba frowned, pressing on his neck again, checking worriedly for what he could've _sworn_ was a sting on his neck. "Mom was fucking wrong. I didn't conquer my fear at all… If anything, I just became even more frightened…"

Before Kiba had any time to react, Shino turned around and leaned toward his ear, making a long and drawn out "V" sound with his teeth and bottom lip, much like buzzing. Kiba froze, pushing Shino away and glaring. "S-Stop it!"

"Did you feel like you were unable to breathe?"

"H– Y–, er… N-No!"

"Then it worked to an extent."

The taller man walked into the house, and Kiba stared at him, finding his knees growing weak. He clenched his fists, wiping at the tears making their way down his cheeks. "D-Damn it…but only because you're not a fucking _bee_. If it had been real buzzing, I would've freaked out… I…I _know_ I would have… I had difficulty breathing for some _other_ reason, you jerk…"

––––––––––––––––––––

"You did great today, Kiba," his sister said lovingly, as she applied ointment to the stings on his arms.

Kiba just wiped at his eyes a little and shook his head. "Are you kidding me, Hana?" He sniffled, feeling like he'd let his mother down for the hundredth time since he came down here. "I didn't conquer my fear at all. I ran like a pussy until Shino sprayed that weird shit and lured them away again. I'm still afraid of them. Mom hasn't…she wouldn't…" He sighed. "She wouldn't be proud…"

Juugo gave a soft smile and placed a piece of the ice cream cake on a plate, handing it off to the brunet. "She would be _very_ proud. The obstacle you had to overcome was facing them, right? Well you faced them. It doesn't matter if you ran off when they started to sting you. Anyone would run away from pain."

"I think you did a good job. Just look at all those battle scars," replied the pale-haired man across the table. He cocked a small, uncharacteristic smile and reached over, patting Kiba's hand affectionately. "You did great, just as Hana said, Kiba."

Kiba turned to the man and frowned. "Kim…" He sighed pathetically once more, unable to bring himself to eat the ice cream cake Juugo and Hana had requested Kimimaro bring over here for a mini-celebration. He winced slightly as Hana accidentally pressed one of the spots a bit too hard, and she apologized before applying the ointment on it once more.

When all of that was done, he finally turned around and propped his cheeks in his hands. Kimimaro was staring at him across the table, and Hana took her place across from Juugo, the soon-to-be's looking at him eagerly. He forced a grin and took a bite of the cake, nearly gagging at the taste of honey.

"V–" He coughed, spitting it out and staring at Kimimaro accusingly. "V-Very funny, you jerk!"

Kimimaro simply shrugged his shoulders, taking a piece for himself. "Honey is very healthy for you, Kiba You should eat it more often. It helps with digestion."

"God, you are the second person to tell me that today! I don't want to hear it!"

Hana giggled, taking a slice of the cake and taking a bite, her cheeks warming at the taste. "But he's absolutely right, Kiba. Honey is almost therapeutic, wouldn't you know?" She turned to Kimimaro, her face falling. "When do you go back to work, Kim?"

"…In two days. I figure I'm there for two weeks before I make myself ill enough to go back to the hospital. It's a vicious cycle, but I refuse to just sit back and let my mother baby me for the rest of my life…" He took another bite of the cake, glancing at Juugo, eyes going soft. "…How have you been holding up, Juugo? She's not giving you too much trouble, is she?"

Juugo rubbed the back of his head, abstaining from any sugar. "Well…I made her spinach to help keep her regular, but she refused to eat it and instead ate all the meat I'd painstakingly prepared for her and Kiba and Shino." A violent shudder rose in him. "…And……all of that raw meat…just…" He started to tremble, hands shaking like leaves.

"Can you blame her after you made _spinach_?"

All eyes turned to the pale, pale-haired man at the end of the table, calmly eating cake. Without another word, he just _looked_ at Juugo, and the bigger man stopped shaking, seeming to calm almost in an instant. He finally smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

"…You're right…I probably should've made her something that tasted a bit better…"

Hana smiled, taking a big bite of cake. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but is there any chance we could just take you in as a pet to calm Juugo's nerves, Kim?"

The man gave her a rather agitated look, shrugging his shoulders casually. They could all see he minded a great deal. "City air will probably worsen my condition…" He glanced at Kiba, then at Juugo. "And probably the baby's…"

Juugo immediately turned to Hana, eyes wide. "He's right. We need to move out of the city."

She snapped. "No, we do _not_ need to move out of the city!! The city is just fine for the baby! That's where I was born, and I have absolutely _no_ problems! I'm healthy as a horse!" She turned to the man at the end of the table. "And _you_ aren't helping a bit."

Kimimaro gave her a soft smile. "I'm not helping you, Hana."

Without another word, Kimimaro retreated to the bathroom. Shino walked in the back door, holding the CD in his hands. "I managed to go and get it before the dogs did." He looked at Kiba, his eyebrows twitching. "…Akamaru was playing with it like it was a toy. We should make sure it works first…"

"I'll listen to it later," muttered the brunet. "I just…I'm tired and want to relax for today…"

He walked out of the room, and Hana turned to Shino, her eyebrows raising. "Now that my brother is out of the room…" She leaned over the table, and Juugo joined in when she said, "We know you know."

Shino stared at them. "What?"

"You know how Kiba feels about you," Hana simply stated.

Shino went pink, his eyebrow twitching slightly in response to their accusation. It was right, of course, but… "So what if I do? Do you expect me to _do_ something about it?"

Hana stared at him for the longest time until a soft voice behind them interrupted the speech she was about to give him. It was pretty much the same she would've said, but much more direct.

"Yes, considering you feel the same about him."

They all turned to Kimimaro just watching Shino, sizing him up. After a while, he walked over and placed a hand on Shino's shoulder, his face dangerously close to an exposed neck. He didn't touch him, nor did he even touch his sleeves. He simply curled his hands into fists.

"If you wait too long, you'll miss your chance."

There was something endearing about the way he said it, and yet, something broken, as if a piece of the shorter, paler, sicker man had been there before and had been lost, as if he'd waited too long, as if he'd missed his own chance. Finally, Kimimaro turned his face up, locking eyes with Shino, voice even more direct.

"It's been one month. I'm not going to tell you that's a record. It's not. I give him one more month before he gives up on you entirely. If you're hoping for him to make the first move, you'll be sorely mistaken. When it comes to situations like these, he tends to keep silent about it, moving from the shadows. Why do you think he slipped into Sakon's control so easily? If you be direct with him, he'll be direct with you. Until then, the only thing keeping him to you is the pain of his mother's death."

"What? Why are you telling me this?"

Kimimaro smiled, finally grabbing his wrist, digging his fingers into it. "Because he is the only one I have ever given a shit about. And I want him to be happy; I want him to be fulfilled. I made a promise to his mother, and I am _not_ letting her down. You _will_ make him fulfilled; I can see it. But if you let this chance pass you by, it won't just be you suffering. Kiba will be doomed to countless amounts of relationships that won't give him any sort of happiness." Without another word, Kimimaro released his hold on Shino and took his leave.

Shino looked back at the happy couple, his face turning red. "You think…I care about Kiba? I…d-d-don't. He's just a friend. What would be the point of telling him I know about his feelings for me if I didn't feel the same for him?"

"You're a stupid shit, Shino. I _hope_ he moves on, just so _you_ can experience hurt for a change, you stupid bastard." Hana stood, slamming the lid back on the cake and shoving it into the freezer.

Juugo raised an eyebrow at her. "Hana, we can't just force Shino to do something he doesn't want to do… He _has_ only ever been with girls before… Don't you think any sudden directness would–"

"Don't take his side, Juugo. Love knows no gender and–"

"What are you two arguing about?"

The three froze as Kiba walked into the kitchen, his face falling slightly. "You guys…are already fighting? You've got a baby on the way. Try and make it work. What the hell are you two arguing about?"

There was a sick moment of silence before Hana shot Shino a dirty look, a grin on her face. "As a matter of fact, _Shino–_"

"–said that Hana looked fat in those pants and I agreed with him," Juugo finished, before she could let his secret slip. Unlike her, he had a feeling Shino needed more time to adjust. Shino was a lot like him–moving too fast made him anxious. The only reason why his relationship moved so fast was that he initiated it. If Kiba knew, he'd initiate it for sure and make Shino flee.

Hana opened her mouth to yell at him, but Kiba cut her off. He glared at the two men. "Hana still looks smokin' like always. Just get Ukon down here to tell you. Juugo, even if Shino speaks what he thinks, don't agree with him. God, you two should just get over it…" He stormed out of the room, looking quite flustered, and Shino gave Juugo a look of relief.

Hana frowned, and Juugo explained the situation as he saw it–Shino's need for time, time to adjust and grow accustomed to his feelings first. It wasn't until Juugo finished his tirade that Shino begrudgingly backed the other man up, and Hana agreed she wouldn't breathe a word of it to her brother.

None of them noticed Kiba in the living room, listening to their entire conversation with bated breath. He had to fight himself from leaping up into the air and screaming at the top of his lungs, "YAHOO!!" He managed to dash out into the backyard and out back, behind the kennels, before he did it.

Immediately afterward, he walked over to Suzumebachi's house, knocked on the door. She answered warily before spying who it was and smiling. "Oh, Kiba! You and Shino left so quickly, I wasn't able to get that honey to you. Would you like me to get it now?"

Kiba nodded, biting his lip to keep himself from shoving his finger in her face and laughing victoriously right then and there. She shuffled around in the kitchen for a moment before she produced a rather large jelly jar filled with it, covered with a nice plaid-patterned, water-proof, waxed paper.

He grabbed it from her, turning away before she could even say anything.

"Kiba, say hi to Shino for me, will you?"

Finally the brunet turned around, eyes flashing. "Sorry, he doesn't like brunettes. You've _lost_." He gripped the honey tighter, unable to keep the smile twitching at the corner of his lips down any longer.

"You've **lost**!! He is _mine_, now!"

He dashed out the door and jumped up in the air, placing the jar in the kitchen and dashing out into the backyard. He wanted to tell everyone, he wanted to shout it to the sky! Shino was _his_! Shino was _his_! Shino was _his_ and _his_ alone!!

"Akamaru! Come on, boy, we're going for a walk!"

Hana looked out the door after him, her face puzzled. "K-Kiba…are you…alright?"

"I'm fine! Tell Juugo I'm happy both of you are finally starting to sound like a married couple!

He dashed out, down the street, down to the cemetery where he found his mother's grave there, the roses still resting on it passively–slightly more wilted than they had been the day before. He picked one up and kissed the petals.

"You were right, Mom, just like you _always_ were… I found someone better than Sakon! When Shino leaves to go back to the city…I'll be going back with him."

–––––––––––––––––

Around three, when he got back to his room, Kiba stared at the ceiling, a smile making its way to his face again. He'd tuckered himself out racing all over town and leaping around with joy. He was fairly sure he'd jumped into the fountain in the park numerous times and splashed around with Akamaru. Now that he had some time to reflect on it, he found it easier to think about without jumping up and screaming at the top of his lungs. Shino really _did_ care. He really _did_ care about him as more than just a friend.

Shino felt the same as he did.

Kiba rolled over, curling up against his pillow, the grin splitting wide and the urge to laugh almost irresistible. It all made sense–those moments of protection with Suigetsu and Neji and Ukon, the anger when Shikamaru was teasing him, his reasoning behind bringing Akamaru down there for him, how he always knew exactly what to say, why he suddenly let him get close and cling to him when he cried, why he was so intent on keeping him from drinking, all of those things and even more.

So Shino needed _time to adjust_? Was that _it_?? He just gave him a month or so to adjust and Shino would be his!? This was wonderful! He had to go call Deidara and Sasori!!

His eyes widened.

No.

He had to thank them somehow. He had to do _something_ for them. All of his patience had paid off, and now the _real_ waiting began. He wouldn't do something stupid like Deidara did. He'd give Shino as much space as he needed, he'd try to be civil with him. He'd wait for Shino to come to him, and he'd do a damn good job of it, too. None of this "seeing another man while waiting" crap. Or maybe that was the approach he needed to take to assure Shino _would_ come to him?

He burst out laughing in his glee, unable to hold it in any longer, a burst of happiness suddenly reenergizing him. When Shino walked by his room and looked in, asking what was up, Kiba just looked at him lovingly.

"Hana and Juugo have had their first argument as a couple," he cooed. "It's going to work between them! I can feel it in my bones!"

Shino smiled. "You feel it, too?"

Kiba sucked in a breath, fighting to keep himself on the bed and not all over the man in the doorway. "Y…Yeah. I do… How's about we listen to the next clue before we go to sleep? If you're going to go out before then, stay away from Suzumebachi. She can be a real pain."

Shino just smiled knowingly and chuckled before he left the room, and Kiba watched him as he wandered back to the backyard. Shino was just checking up on him. He smiled, his laughter bubbling up again.

"You're such a great guy," he managed to hiss out somewhat quietly.

He reached around underneath his bed, pulling out the CD he only ever took out when he'd been with Sakon. His Neil Diamond CD. He popped it into his CD, bent on getting to the next clue after he'd relaxed in final relief. He set it to the track he wanted, and rolled around in his happiness to his favorite songs by Neil Diamond.

Delirious Love.

They couldn't get the laughter out of the house for hours afterward.

When bedtime rolled around, Kiba had managed to calm down, keeping his thoughts tame, keeping himself away from Shino. Shino walked into his room, staring at the CD player, smiling lightly.

"It's…nice to see you in a good mood, Kiba. I was worried you'd be traumatized after those bees…"

"Oh, it's fine," he whispered. He looked down at the CD, popping in the next clue.

Shino went and sat down on the bed, and Kiba couldn't keep himself from pressing himself up to Shino, shoulder to shoulder. Shino didn't seem to really care, and instead Kiba shifted his focus onto the clue.

A steady beeping overtook his ears. Almost immediately afterward, it cut off sharply, giving a long tone. The CD wrenched to a halt in the player, and Kiba's heart went cold. That was…that was a heart monitor, and wherever it was, it'd been cut off.

He looked over at Shino, panic spreading through him.

Where was the end of the clue? It just…cut off from there. Where did it go!? Where the hell was the seventh clue!? He grabbed Shino's arms, ripping the headphones off his ears.

"Shino…"

Shino stared at the brunet, worry crossing his face, though Kiba couldn't see it save for the knitting of his eyebrows and the twisting of his lips. "What is it? …What's wrong?"

"It was…it was just a heart monitor…that got cut off… I don't…" He stood up, his hands trembling near his face in horror. "I don't know what that… What if…What if she didn't get to finish it? What if…What if there _is_ no seventh clue!? Shino, what if my mother _died_ before she could–"

Shino grabbed his shoulder and squeezed, snapping Kiba from his state of horror. The brunet looked down at the ground, tears making their way to his face, and Shino sighed.

"…Well…we need to…"

Kiba turned and looked at him, his face falling. He knew what Shino was going to say before he even said. He knew what he was going to say and he already regretted it. He was going to hate doing this, he had faced his fear of bees, but this latest fear he'd be forced to face was twice as unbearable, twice as horrifying.

"We need to go to the hospital to investigate."

Shino frowned. "Are you _sure_? I can always go and you can stay back here…"

"No. I…" Kiba bit his lip. "I know it's probably not going to end well, Sakon being there and Ukon being intent on me seeing him…but it doesn't matter. I've…well…something tells me I'm going to have to speak with Sakon in exchange for finding the next clue anyway. I'm sure Mom did it to make sure I spoke with Ukon…but I doubt she realized Sakon would suddenly come into the picture."

"I'm going with you."

Kiba looked up at him, relief washing over him, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"Do you mind if Kimimaro comes with me, too?"

Shino's face fell visibly, despite the fact that he nodded. "Yes. He can come."

He turned to leave, but Kiba grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms and locking them around Shino's torso. Shino glanced back at him, stiffening for a moment before relaxing just a bit. He frowned. "Kiba…"

Kiba took a big whiff, catching the smell of him. "I'm not giving up. Ever."

Shino went red. "Wh-What…!?"

"…Even if I have to face Sakon, I'm not giving up. I refuse to let this bring me down. I _have_ to move forward, like you and Kim and Hana keep telling me. I _have_ to. So…I'm not giving up."

Shino smiled, patting his hand softly. "That's good, Kiba. Now, I'd like to get to bed."

Kiba released him and Shino started walking out the room. Barely, just barely, he heard a soft whisper behind him.

"I'm not giving up on _you_, either."

Shino whirled around, surprised to see Kiba turned back toward his bed, easing into the covers. "Did you…say something?"

Kiba turned and looked at him, his face puzzled. "Say what?"

"Nothing…I…" He scratched his head and turned around. "I must be hearing things…"

He left, not catching the mischievous glint in Kiba's eyes, or the wide, toothy grin he was giving the ceiling as he closed his eyes and propped his arms behind his head.

Two could play at mind games.


	29. The Scavenger Hunt pt3

_I went back to read my old work…and it's complete shit. I feel so ashamed of all of my fanfiction, and the novels I'm working on are complete shit, too. The only highlights are the short stories I've been _working on for class_. _

_I got really excited over D.Gray-man, and I like it a LOT, and OMGOMGOMG Crowley/Krowly/Krory and Tyki/Tiki/Tykki and Lavi/Rabi and Lenalee/Linali/Rinalee/Rinali/Rinari/However-the-fuck-you-spell-her-name. _

_I still find it funny that in the manga scanlations I've been reading, no one seems to figure out a way to spell their names and stick with it. Lavi's the only one of the characters I've mentioned that doesn't change from chapter to chapter. Ha ha. Naruto's so much easier since it's been licensed and everything. I need to buy the licensed versions of the D.Gray-man manga and see how they spell the names, I guess._

_By the way, Kimimaro's shot up to my list of top ten characters in this story, because of how he acts._

**Top Ten List:**_  
__**10) Hana**__ (She is Kiba's rock, after all. And she's got "big sister" senses.)  
__**9) Juugo**__ (Silent, wise, and just slightly unbalanced. Easily frazzled when it comes to the baby: prime character material.)  
__**8) Chouji **_**and**_** Shikamaru**__ (Because you can't have one without the other, and if Chouji leaves Shikamaru, Shikamaru will probably talk to inanimate objects in the apartment to fill the void. But yes, they've been trying to help Kiba, so they get points. And I had fun making it seem like they were gay at the beginning of the story. My favorite moment with them is actually in one of the earlier chapters, when Shikamaru complains about how he has to wait until Chouji_'_s dead asleep before he can pull out his porn and masturbate. And then Chouji gets more offended over the fact that Shikamaru isn't sharing his stash.)  
__**7) Neji**__ (I can't help it. He's a maneater. It's a phase, I swear! Once he gets a girl, he'll totally get out of that phase! Or once he gets Sasuke…whichever one comes first. Well, with Sasuke, he wouldn't get out of that maneater phase, would he?And, despite the fact that he's trying to keep Chouji away from Hinata, he's actually feeding the fuel in Chouji's rage. Sooner or later Chouji's just going to snap if he doesn't stop trying to interfere with their love.)  
__**6) Sakon**__ (What? What's this bastard doing here!? I can't explain it. I like his vulnerability with the whole amnesia. He's not _that_ bad of a guy…_really_.)  
__**5) Sakura**__ (Like earthbender068 stated in one of her reviews, Sakura's a catalyst. And if it weren't for her, Shino probably wouldn't have gone down to bring Kiba back. How she is a catalyst will become even more obvious after you get back to the city and see what's happened in their absence.)  
__**4) Tsume**__ (Hey, she HAS made all of this possible, hasn't she?)  
__**3) Kimimaro**__ (Top _three_, you lucky little bonehead! What can I say? He's so nice to Kiba, even when Kidoumaru and Ukon act all huffy toward him. Kimi-chan is a SAINT.)  
__**2) Kiba**__ (Do you really have to ask?)  
__**1) Shino**__ (Why does he come before Kiba? Because he's the entire subject of the title! The entire dog subject is one giant euphemism!)_

_What's _your_ Top Ten list, eh?

* * *

  
_

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 29_

"Unf."

He fell out of bed, sweating up a storm, his hard-on strangled from the jeans he refused to change out of before going to bed the previous night. He looked up at the ceiling, seeing stars, and arched his back a bit to maneuver his head toward the clock.

11:06?

P.M.!?

How long had he been sleeping!? Two hours or Twenty-six hours!?

Kiba stood abruptly, going into the guest room for lack of anything else he could do. "Shino, Shino, how long have I been asleep!? Is it nearly Monday or nearly Wednesday!?"

Shino shot up like a rocket, staring at Kiba, the sunglasses now off his eyes completely for Kiba to see him startled as all hell. He put a hand to his head, looking around the room for the longest time, half-awake. "Oh my God…" His eyes widened further, looking almost comical in his soon-to-be joint panic with the dog-lover. "I…I don't know… I fell asleep an hour ago, I thought… Maybe it is??"

Kiba put a hand to his mouth, letting out a yawn instead. "Never mind. I'm…I'm still tired. I guess that rules out a twenty-six hour sleep." He sidled over, inching toward the bed, not really caring if Shino could see his erection or not–Shino _knew_ now, after all.

"…So…" He sat down on the bed, frowning a little. "Sorry I woke you, then."

"Yes, sorry…" Shino stared at him for a bit longer as Kiba inched a little closer. "…I'm sorry you woke me, too," he pressed. "As in…_you can leave now_."

"'M not tired anymore."

"But you just said–"

"Why'd you start wearing your sunglasses again?"

Remembering he didn't have them on anymore, Shino reached over and slid them up his nose, curling up a little as he did so. "…No reason. Why were you laughing so much earlier today?"

"…No reason."

"Well…this is a great conversation, but I'd prefer to get some sleep."

"I…don't feel like sleeping."

Shino stared at him, narrowing his eyes behind the sunglasses. "…What do you feel like doing?"

Kiba shrugged his shoulders, looking up at the ceiling aimlessly. "Oh, I don't know… **You**, taking Akamaru for a walk, going over to Kimimaro's house, maybe causing some mayhem in the park, or perhaps–"

"Woah, woah, woah. Back up."

"Hmm?"

"Say the first thing again."

"Hmmm?" Kiba turned to the taller man, hiding the smile with a mask of confusion. "……Taking Akamaru for a walk?"

"…I must still be half-asleep…" Shino rubbed at his head, and Kiba had to bite his tongue to suppress the urge to laugh. After a long, long moment, Kiba crawled over, curling up in the spot next to him.

He smiled, looking over at the man next to him. "The last time we were in a bed, we got into a conversation and I looked over to see you asleep. That was very aggravating on my end… You didn't even tell me goodnight. Some friend you are."

Shino looked over at him, leaning further into his knees. "…Sorry about that. Your voice just puts me to sleep."

Kiba glared. "And your voice makes me want to vomit."

"…It's too late to start arguments."

"Why not?"

"My ulcer," Shino warned.

"Fuck the ulcer. You got a problem, you deal with it appropriately. It's about time you had a talk with my friend, Kimimaro. He's the one to go to when you have problems. Especially unresolved issues. You have any unresolved issues, Shino?"

"Just one."

Kiba smiled, hopeful Shino would let it slip in this more…vulnerable state of mind of his. If that were the case, it would be out in the open and Shino would _have_ to come to terms with it, and quick. "And that would be?"

"…I haven't visited my dad in ages. Some four or five years, almost."

Kiba frowned, pouting a little before letting concern take precedence over that childish feeling of disappointment. "…Did you guys get into a fight?"

"No. I just…got tired of his antics…and his friends, and that place in general. I hated it back home. The air was stifling, the worms were annoying, and the work was back-breaking. It's not a matter of if got into a fight, it's the fact that we grew apart rather suddenly that still bugs me. We'd always been close, never having to say a word in order to feel a connection. I'd moved out, but we always managed to find time to visit each other once a week. And then…all of a sudden the year before I left for the city, every time I would visit, he just wouldn't stop talking. If it wasn't one thing, it was another, and he jabbered on and on and on. Almost immediately after that I stopped visiting, and after that…I moved to the city. It happened so quick I still haven't been able to figure out how I felt about him talking so much, or why I suddenly felt the need to leave."

Shino must've been really upset–that had to be the longest rant he'd ever heard from the man. Kiba frowned. "…You've got a good relationship with your dad. After I hit high school, I had to act out in order for mine to say two words to me. Even when I was a kid, he would talk to Mom and Hana almost constantly…but he rarely would say anything directly to me. It was as if he were shying away from me…"

Shino went silent, just staring at him for the longest time, and after a moment, Kiba waved his hand in front of Shino's face. When Shino waved back, Kiba's eyes widened. "Wah! I thought you had fallen asleep!"

"I can't get back to sleep, same as you." He looked away. "Great going."

"Well, why don't we go visit Kim? You'll be able to catch a glimpse at my childhood!"

"…Why not? We still have to let him know he'll be coming with us to the hospital."

––––––––––––––––––

The lights weren't on when they jumped the fence. Kiba turned and looked at Shino, frowning somewhat. "His mother goes to sleep at eight, and Kim follows shortly after, unless he's doing something or waiting for the guys to arrive. At least, it was that way in high school, but…lately he's been up later…" He looked back up at Kimimaro's window, staring at the dark glass.

A light flashed on in the kitchen, and Kiba winced, dragging Shino with him around the corner of the house, away from whomever it was that had opened the door. If it were his mother, he didn't know what they would do. She'd probably yell at them, or something of that nature.

"_Stay away from my son!" _She'd shouted once. _"His sweater stinks of weed! What have you three been pulling him into!? And those boys you three befriend…all of them are ruffians! My baby's not going to get involved with a bunch of hoodlums! Get out of my yard! He is _grounded_ from here on out!"_

Kiba turned and looked at Shino, placing a finger to his lips, before he cautioned a look around the corner. Almost immediately, a swear on both ends resounded in the air and something collided with Kiba's face, sending him to his knees.

The wounded brunet looked up at his assailant, holding his nose, and the person on the other side of the wall swore again.

"Kiba!? I heard someone whispering outside! I thought you were–"

Tears formed in the corner of Kiba's eyes and he stood up, sniffing and holding his head up, squeezing his nose. "Yeah, Kim, you might be anemic but you still pack a punch. Are you _sure_ you're as frail as the doctors keep saying you are? What the hell have you got? Brass knuckles??"

From around Kiba, Kimimaro gingerly made his way around the corner, looking at the man the brunet had been speaking to. He gave Shino a puzzled look, and then glanced back at his childhood friend. "…Kiba…what are you doing here? I was trying to get an early sleep for once… I go back to work _tomorrow_."

Kiba frowned, holding his nose and finally rubbing it a little. "Yeah…?" He finally let go, letting just a single drop of blood go trickling from his nose before it stopped as he looked back at Shino. After a quick look, he glanced back at Kimimaro, narrowing his eyes. "An _early _sleep? It's past midnight! What were you doing in the kitchen?"

"I was getting a glass of milk, if you _must_ know," replied the pale-haired man. He grabbed their arms and led them into the house. When they were all situated at the kitchen table, Kimimaro lifted the glass of milk he'd had out to his lips and gave a cautionary look Shino's way.

"What are you doing here, Shino? And with Kiba, no less… Something _happen_?"

Kiba sighed. "Yes. My next clue…was…" He shook his head. "We need to go ask Ukon for help in the morning. We think it might be at the hospital… All the CD had on it was a heart monitor before it cut off and ended right there. When I said I had to go down there, Shino said he'd go, too, and I figured you'd want to go as well… You _have_ been warning me about Ukon lately…"

"…Yes, Ukon has been avoiding me. I tried calling him twice, but he didn't pick up the phone. I can assume it was because he was busy, but I showed up at his apartment and he saw who it was and slammed the door on me… I don't know what he's planning, but it's not going to be pretty, Kiba. You have to understand…he's never been in control of Sakon before. Sakon's always been the stronger of the two, more dominant. With Sakon in the condition he's in, Ukon is completely lost as to what to do. He's awkward and not thinking clearly, throwing his best qualities away."

Shino stared at Kimimaro skeptically, his distaste for the twins not even hidden. "…Best qualities?"

"His compassion. Ukon has completely abandoned that. It's obvious by how he slammed the door in my face. Usually if he doesn't want to see me, he'll tell it to my face and apologize, but not this time. With his compassion gone, there's no telling what he'll do… Right now he's thinking selfishly, and the only other person he is concerned about is Sakon." The man took a drink of milk and set it back down amidst a group of papers scattered across his side of the table before he turned his eyes to the ceiling. "If this is how siblings act when the other gets injured, I'm glad I'm an only child…" He sighed at that comment before turning back to Kiba and throwing him a cautionary look. "Do _not_ let him get you alone when you go to the hospital, Kiba."

Kiba turned his eyes to the papers, quirking a brow. "Are those applications for a publishing company…?"

"What are you– That's not–" Kimimaro watched him for a brief moment before he looked back down at the papers, eyes widening in realization. "Oh. Yes. Those are. I'm…trying to see if they'll publish that book I told you about. I was going for something educational."

Kiba stared at him. "…Educational? Well…that sounds like you… What's it about?"

"A boy who befriends his skeleton."

Kiba shivered involuntarily, scooting a bit closer toward Shino in the process. "That…really does sound like you, Kim. That's…_creepy_. Why would any kid want to read about stuff like that?"

"Because it's targeted for pre-teens, and it's supposed to be _educational_. It's about a boy named Casey who befriends his skeleton and gives his bones names. Therefore, all of the children reading it learn the name of every bone in the human body. Interesting, right?"

"…I don't think many kids would be interested in that," stated Shino, vindictively.

"They aren't the _only_ target audience, you fool," Kimimaro rebutted. "Teachers, parents, people who want their kids to be reading something educational. Those would be the people _buying_ them, therefore they are the target audience as well." Kimimaro propped his chin in his hand, eyes turning back to the papers on the table. "I'm hoping if I send it in and the publishers like it enough, they'll set me up with a deal with this sort of thing. With being in and out of the hospital so often, I've learned so many things about the human body, I could write an entire series over the subject. Red blood cells and white blood cells, livers, kidneys, hearts, lungs… If they _do_ manage to set me up with a deal in a series of books, my next will definitely be about the immune system."

"…Have you even let someone else look at your work?"

"Just my mother… There's not a lot I can do being cooped up in either this house or in a hospital bed, is there?"

"Let me read it."

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes just slightly. "You have to promise you'll laugh."

"What?" Kiba's eyes widened and he glanced back at Shino, both men exchanging a shrug and a puzzled look before he turned back to the paler man, his mouth open to ask it again if the need arose.

"I tried putting some humor in there, and all of the laughs my mother gave were fake. If you read it, try to at least sound a bit more convincing…"

The man handed the manuscript over toward him and Kiba read over it, finally biting back a laugh. "You said…she sounded _fake_?? What do you mean by that? There's so many puns in here! Kids would _love_ it!" Shino immediately grabbed it, forgetting his manners. He read it over, and looked over at Kimimaro, chuckling to himself.

"It's great. You did a great job on the humor, like Kiba said. The part about the funny bone is just that–it's a riot."

Kimimaro narrowed his eyes. "…Then why aren't you laughing?"

Kiba frowned. "Kim, does he _look _like the type of person who'd burst out laughing?"

"…Hmm…" Kimimaro looked away, tapping his finger on the table anxiously. "…It's not good enough. It needs more, I just know it."

"Well…yes. It's too scientific."

Both men turned to Shino, and Shino shrugged his shoulders passively. "And because of that, it's too long. Maybe you could go over the main bones and then skip over the more intricate ones." He frowned. "Do you _really_ need to name each and every bone in the human hand? In the feet? And perhaps instead of naming his torso Sternum and Ribs, maybe you should shorten those to Ribcage? Wouldn't that work just as well?"

"…Of course I can't. The sternum is a completely different bone from the ribs; there's the parts to it, in fact. And there are two sets of ribs–those fused to the sternum and the false ribs, including the floating ribs. And then there's the xiphoid pro–"

"Yes. You didn't need to name some Floating Ribs or False Ribs. Instead of calling them–"

"This is supposed to be _educational_."

"It's _boring_. The humorous parts are humorous, but for a kid's book, there's too much information to hold their interest."

Kimimaro gave him a hurt look before he looked down at the manuscript, sighing to himself and crumpling up the letter to the publishing company. "I figured that was the case…"

Kiba frowned, standing up and pinching Shino's ear. "Shino, try to be a bit _less_ transparent on your thoughts of this, please. Kim, don't throw that application away. The story wasn't **boring**. _I_ liked it. You're just thinking too hard. Kids aren't going to _think_ if someone reads this to them, they're just going to _listen_ and _learn_. I didn't know there were three bones in the human ear! It was very informative."

After a short while, Shino looked back at him in time with Kimimaro, both of them saying the same thing in unison–

"You didn't know that?"

Kiba went red, crossing his arms over his chest and looking betrayed. Despite the fact that he wanted to smack them both in the face, he managed to grin and bear it, more intent on lifting his old friend's spirits– "See! It's interesting if a kid doesn't know anything in there! Shino…_Sh-Shino_ only thought it was boring because he knew all about it!" He thrust his hand toward Shino, trying to further explain his point, and slapped it against his own thigh, nodding his head.

Shino crossed his arms over his chest, stubborn as always, shooting Kimimaro a dirty look not even related to the book or his way of writing it, but, rather, something completely different. "I still think there needed to be something done with the ribs. Not even a **fourteen** year old is going to give a damn about the differences between floating ribs and false ribs and–"

"Floating ribs _are_ false ribs!" Kimimaro stood, ready to give Shino a taste of what Kiba had received earlier.

Kiba slammed his hands on the table, hands spread out between them, separating the two instantly. "Guys, stop arguing! You're going to wake Kim's mom!"

"Like you already _have_?"

They all turned to see her standing there, all weary and aged and running her hands through thinning black hair. She sighed, motioning toward the door. "Kimimaro…you go back to work _tomorrow_… Don't tell me you're up with that book you're writing again. I swear, that thing is going to be the death of you. Do you _want_ me to throw it away while you're finally asleep?"

Kimimaro sighed, standing up and going to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll go to bed now if you want."

"No. Go sleep at Kiba's house. You need a break."

He looked up at her, eyes widening. "What?"

"Get out of the house for once. It's nice not hearing you shuffling around all over the place, complaining about how you want to get out for a little while. You don't have to ask my permission before you leave, you know. This isn't a prison. Get out for a while. Go sleep at your little friend's house."

"I'm _thirty_. When are you going to stop calling him my little friend?"

"When you stop calling your penis that."

"Mother!"

"Out, Kim. You say you're thirty, but how often have you just left the house? And I don't just mean to the hospital."

His eyes widened, unable to believe his ears. "Wh-What??"

"Kimimaro. **Out**."

––––––––––––––––––

Kimimaro shivered into his sweater, putting a hand to his mouth and coughing. He looked over at the two men walking beside him, feeling so out of place. It wasn't that they were talking: it was that it was _them_. He didn't belong with them at the moment, not after that morning, when it was obvious Shino was only denying his feelings for Kiba on the surface.

He coughed again, more firmly that time, and looked up at the moon, eyes growing heavy. Kiba leaned over, linking arms with him almost immediately, his voice taking on a–surprisingly–rather believable falsetto. "Kimimaro, don't call your penis your little friend. That's Kiba's title!"

Kimimaro went slightly red, looking away. "Kiba, just stop your teasing right now and I won't repeat that attack when you peeked around the corner. If you _really_ make me mad, I may just get angry enough to shove the bone in your nose into your brain. And wouldn't _that_ be productive for either of us?"

"Enough with your empty threats, Kimimaro! Come here and give Mama a kiss!!" Kiba grinned and leaned over, pressing his lips together and making kissy noises. Kimimaro chuckled and pushed on him to get him to stop. When Kiba continued pushing, he finally leaned over and gave the other man a quick kiss on the cheek, just to shut him up.

"Fine, _mother_."

Kiba laughed victoriously, glancing over at Shino. "Man, I'll bet Shino wishes he could get in on some of _this_ action… Whattya say, guys? Care for a three-way when we get back home? I can be the meat and you two can be the bread…"

Both men gave him strained looks, Shino a bit more flustered than the other, before they both let out a sharp, "NO."

Kiba snickered and ran his hand through Kimimaro's hair, not even catching a look back at Shino to see him getting jealous–he knew he was doing it now, and that made it twice as thrilling as it had when he wasn't sure if Shino were getting jealous. He twirled a lock of that hair around his finger, singing in a sugary-sweet tenor. "Kimimaroooo…did you tell Kidoumaru that _thing_ I told you to tell him yet?"

For a brief moment Kimimaro just continued to walk, staring ahead of him, wondering what on earth Kiba was talking about…until it hit him. He shot a look over in Shino's direction, at the man now starting to shake just a smidge more than the breeze was making him shake.

He grabbed Kiba's wrist, pulling him off the sidewalk, into a random stranger's yard, over to the house. "Shino, allow us some privacy, please," he spat, as he retreated to the yard. The second he knew they were out of Shino's hearing range, Kimimaro slammed Kiba into the wall, hissing.

"You _know_."

Kiba grinned, just as lopsided of a grin as Shikamaru's when he was feeling particularly playful. "Know what, Kim? I don't know what you're talking about…" The sickly man dug his finger into the dog-lover's collar bone, right into the muscles surrounding it, and Kiba winced horribly, letting out a sharp cry. "Ow! Kimimaro, what the hell!?"

"If I make you scream, will that make him jealous? Is that it? That's what you're getting at, right? You heard our conversation earlier today, didn't you?"

Kiba bit his lip and pried the offending finger away from his collar bone, resisting the urge to smack him with his pimp hand. "Yes, I heard. Now stop that. You're making Clavicle upset, _Casey_."

Kimimaro gave him a weary look, showing that his patience with his old friend had finally worn thin. "Kiba, why haven't you done anything about it? Why are you still toying with him? I _know_ you're a better person than Sakon."

"Look, it's not me just being a bastard, alright? Shino just needs time to adjust to his feelings for me, and since I'm not one for being patient, I'm just going to have to satisfy my urges with a little bit of fun like this, alright?"

Kimimaro's eyes widened. "Wait, so…" He frowned. "If you jump him, he'll _have_ to adjust, right?"

"No." He smiled. "If I jump him, Shino will feel smothered and run away." His eyes flashed with excitement, and he grabbed Kimimaro by the shoulders. "It's going to work with us. It's going to work, Kim! As long as I keep my head out of my pants for once, I'll be fine!" Just as he were about to laugh, Kimimaro pushed him back into the house and began walking away.

"I'm sorry I can't share in your enthusiasm. Satisfy your urges in some other way. I'd prefer to be on good terms with Shino."

"Kim." When Kimimaro turned to look back at the brunet, Kiba was staring at him with a shy expression on his face, shifting uncomfortably. "…I know it's going to sound weird coming from my mouth, but…are you mad at me?"

"…That's uncharacteristically vulnerable of you. Why do you think I'm mad at you?"

"Well, it's just…you _did_ just hurt me and start acting cold… I…well…it's Shino, right?"

"No. I want to be on good terms with him."

"Why?"

Kimimaro crossed his hands over his chest, narrowing his eyes a bit in confusion. "What do you mean, 'Why?' …He's going to be a big part of your life eventually. Isn't that reason enough?"

"Aren't you jealous of that? The fact that I need Shino more than I need you, I mean."

Kimimaro shrugged. "It's always been that way, hasn't it? Ukon and Sakon were closer to you than I was. It's only now that we've become close. The fact that you need Shino more than you need me is _slightly_ aggravating…but in the end I can't make you as happy as he can, can I? That's all I care about. Seeing you fulfilled has been my one concern for you. Nothing is going to change that."

Kiba gave him a little smile, his confidence returning, his insecurities melting away. He walked back toward the street, and Kimimaro followed. After a brief moment, halfway across the lawn, Kiba threw his arms behind his head and looked up at the sky, smiling. He rarely did that–it seemed more like something Shikamaru would do, now that he thought about it.

"She called you Kim."

Kimimaro smiled. "She did. It caught me by surprise, too." He looked over at Kiba, giving him a small smile. "Things are looking up for the both of us, I guess."

"Yep. You're growing closer to your mom…" He frowned a little, taking his place by Shino so they could continue their trek back to his house. "…Her calling you by your nickname and all… It means she thinks of you as an adult, right?"

Shino swallowed his jealousy and glanced over at Kiba. Before he could open his mouth to console the brunet, Kimimaro said his piece for him.

"Your mom thought of you as an adult. She just felt you needed just a little bit more growing is all." He shot Shino a small smirk, making sure Shino was staring directly at him when he mouthed something about how it would be a shame to lose Kiba to someone.

Shino shook, finally elbowing Kiba in the ribs with his disgust. "Cheer up."

Kiba winced and rubbed his side, looking up at him. "Well, _thanks_, Shino." His tone clearly said otherwise, and Shino just grew even more flustered, unable to figure out how to console him or how to make amends for the situation–mainly how to contain his emotions. He finally gave up and shut himself off, distancing himself from the entire situation. Kiba glared at him, speaking more firmly.

"What was that nudge for? Trying to make my emotional pain turn to physical or _what_?"

"Nothing," the taller man pleaded, and that shut the dog-lover up.

–––––––––––––––––––––

The three triplets were sleeping in the kennels, as if nothing had changed. It was their way of mourning, their way of coping with the death of not only two masters but all of their relatives that had gotten sold away in what must've felt like overnight for them. Kuromaru slept in the living room beside Juugo, as always, and Akamaru had taken to sleeping in Kiba's room, by the closet. At one time he'd slept at the foot of Kiba's bed…but that had become impossible without crushing his owner.

Okay, so he wasn't at the closet, rather, he was outside. He had managed to cram himself halfway underneath the table out back, waiting for Kiba and Kiba's man-mate to return. They did, and with a new human in tow–that weird one that always smelled like sick and affection. Kim, Kiba called him. Akamaru was stubborn: that man would always be Sick'n'Affection to him.

Akamaru looked at the men for a brief moment before letting out a half-hearted, "Woof," and looked back at his paws, trying to get to sleep now that he knew his owner and that really nice man-mate of his were safe. Well…he smelled attraction heavy on them, but he hadn't witnessed anything to confirm his nose's suspicions. He could smell a change in both of them, a good kind of change, and that made him suspicious. His nose's detection of the man-mate's heat all over the toilet also had a hand to play in his suspicions. He couldn't bring himself to drink from that delectable toilet bowl anymore after smelling it. Hence, why he already considered Shino Kiba's man-mate.

Kiba went over and patted him on the head, and Akamaru waved his tail happily. He let out another woof as the man-mate–he would never be Shino to him, only Kiba's man-mate–patted him on the head as well. Sick'n'Affection looked at him warily before reaching his hand down, letting Akamaru smell the sick and affection on him, plus a good dose of anxiety, and he licked his hand a little to ease the man's anxiety and be friendly.

Sick'n'Affection didn't smile. He didn't even look pleased. The jack-off made a disgusted look and wiped his hand on his pants–what rudeness! And here he was being nice by acknowledging his trust of the man! Even if Sick'n'Affection _were_ sick, there was no call for that, was there??

"Akamaru, you can go inside if you want. We'll be sitting outside for a while," Kiba said.

He looked at his owner, huffing a little and taking a hint–he just wasn't wanted around here, was he? That blowed. He and Kiba used to do everything together until the bitch had died. He liked the bitch. She was so nice–just as nice as her litter, as her mate. He just loved the Inuzukas in general. Before he walked off to go sleep in the kennels with the triplets, he gave Kiba another long look, one that clearly demanded attention.

"Akamaru, pleeeease?"

He growled, but crawled out and stood anyway. He went over, deciding to act out in his anger, and pounced on the man-mate, humping his ass furiously. Shino stiffened immediately and turned his head to the dog behind him, face slightly red, unsure of what to do in this situation–he'd been tackled before, but never…eh…humped. Kiba went bright red, howling loudly.

"Akamaru! What the hell!? You haven't done that in _years_!! We talked about this!! Only for the ladies!!" Kiba went over and pried him off of his man-mate, and Akamaru dashed off, snickering in the way only dogs could.

Akamaru had always found it hilarious that his owner liked men but automatically assumed he chased after the bitches. Well, of course he _did_ like bitches, didn't he? Well, he'd gotten over that stage of his life when they cut his balls off, and now he didn't fancy much of anything–except that poodle back in the city. She was so _nasty_. Such a naughty little bitch, he just wanted to mount her and–

…Either way, he'd gotten away with acting out, and hopefully pissed his owner off at the same time. Kiba's man-mate _reeked_ of jealousy, and he was slightly disappointed that he hadn't made his owner smell like jealousy. It was annoying–his owner could be dense sometimes. Especially with that conversation over the phone he'd overheard.

Honestly, his owner needed to be put on a leash for a change. If it were the other way around, he'd make sure Kiba were in line. He'd make a _far_ better owner. Akamaru dashed off back to the kennels, hopped the fence, and ran around a few times, just to make the men back at the house uneasy. To his disappointment, they immediately ignored him, and he resigned himself back to the kennels to sulk.

Kiba sighed and sat down at the table, putting his face in his hands. "Shino, you'll have to forgive Akamaru. He obviously didn't like me telling him to buzz off."

"It's no problem. It's not like your dog had anything to get me with anyway." He got up off the ground and sat down on the bench next to him; Kiba looked over at him, hiding a smile.

"You think they cut off the dog's entire penis when they neuter them, don't you? They only cut off its balls, Shino."

Shino went slightly pink, scratching his face. "Well, I figured that, but…" He coughed. "Nevermind."

As Kiba burst out laughing, Kimimaro sat down across from Kiba, frowning. "I don't think your dog likes me, Kiba."

"Most don't if they can smell fear or anxiety on you. They view you as weak." Kiba wiped a tear from the corner of his eye and shrugged his shoulders, giving Kimimaro a teasing grin. "Of course, you _are_ weak, aren't you? You should get some sleep, Kim."

"I'm not tired yet."

"Well, what do you want to do now?"

Kimimaro laughed teasingly again, reaching over and grabbing his hand. "I thought it would be nice if we lit some candles and had a nice midnight snack." He turned his eyes to Shino, eyes flashing with something the taller man couldn't put his finger on. "Almost like a date."

Shino's fists clenched and his head turned away immediately, and Kimimaro could swear he could hear his teeth beginning to grind. He smiled knowingly, turning to Kiba. "So, Kiba–"

Before the words could leave his mouth, Shino slammed his fists on the table and made a loud grunt, turning his eyes to the table. His teeth were clenched, but his forehead was clearly budding with sweat. He started to shake just slightly, and Kiba looked over, his eyes widening, his mouth falling in horror. "Shino! You alright!?"

"M…Medicine," he forced through those clenched teeth.

Kiba stood abruptly. "Oh, damn! Why haven't you been taking your ulcer medication on a regular basis!? Let me go get it for you!" He got up and dashed into the house a bit louder than he would have liked, but, nonetheless, set out to find the medication and painkillers and bring it out to him with a glass of water or milk.

Shino sighed, putting a hand to his forehead. "This……this is pathetic, surely."

Kimimaro stared at him, his eyes narrowing. "Not really. You've obviously never spoken to me directly before. I'm as pathetic as they come."

Shino forced a wry smile on his face, holding his stomach. "You're right. …What you're doing is _very_ pathetic. Even after you know he cares about me, you still try to make him fall for you."

Kimimaro scooted in the bench until he was directly in front of Shino, then he gave a chuckle. "I don't feel anything other than a strong friendship with him that has lasted nearly our whole lives."

"Bull shit."

Shino looked up at him to glare, but Kimimaro had beaten him to it. They stared each other down, eyes locked, as Kimimaro cursed and stood, reaching into his pocket and fumbling around for his wallet. Once he'd found it, his driver's license falling immediately to the table face-down–he was an organ donor, ironically enough, Shino noticed–, Kimimaro reached in and grabbed a picture from it.

The picture was old and wrinkled at the edges, and looked like a school photo. A girl was pictured in it, her hair a nice ruddy colour, her cheeks pink from smiling what must've been all day. A wide smile was plastered on her face–a genuine one, not the usual fake ones found in school photos–and she had her hair pulled back in pigtails, a barrette in her hair. He shoved the picture in Shino's face, huffing.

"That bastard Ukon seduced her right out from under me in high school. Hiruma Natsume moved away after high school, and I still haven't been able to move on. Kiba doesn't know, and I won't tell him. He'd look at Ukon coldly, and the last thing I want is for him to have animosity with someone he cares about."

Shino stared at him, his jaw dropping. "That girl…_Hiruma_ _Natsume_… Wait, you like _her_?"

Kimimaro sat down, pursing his lips together. "Pitiful, isn't it? So don't think I'm stealing him from you. I'm not that uncouth. Not like Ukon. Not like Sakon or Kidoumaru. Not like anyone else in this damn town."

"Then why are you always here? Why are you always hanging on him and holding his hand? Why are your feelings for him so _intense_?"

"I made a promise to his mother. Her one wish she was never able to see through was to see him become a fulfilled and happy adult, with someone he loved and who loved him back, with a firm sense of himself, the ability to stand on his own two feet without help from her or his father or sister. I promised her I'd see him fulfilled for her. These clues she keeps leaving out: I helped her. I know what they are; I know what she has planned for him. And I'm going to see that through however I can."

Shino glared. "You _knew_? And yet you won't help us at the hospital? You won't help us so we don't have to–"

"She didn't tell me _that_ clue. She wanted to make absolutely certain that Kiba and Ukon would repair the friendship between them that broke to pieces in high school. She gave Ukon all information regarding the clue you're trying to find. I know absolutely nothing of it. He _has_ to speak with Ukon to figure out where the clue is. That's why she didn't give anything else in her clue. It was _just_ a heart monitor cutting off like you said earlier, right?"

"Yes. She obviously never factored Sakon into the picture."

Kimimaro's eyes glowered. "Who would? Everyone thought he was dead. Ukon was the only one who hadn't given up hope. I suppose that makes sense–they _are_ twins after all…" He put a hand to his head, messing with the part in his hair. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had some sort of weird mental connection neither of them realized existed."

"…Your book _is_ good."

Kimimaro snapped out of his negative thoughts, turning to the man across the table, the stubborn man across the table, the strangely, stubbornly, _childish_ man across the table, his eyes widening. "What?"

"Your book. It's good," Shino replied before lowering his cheek to the cool tabletop, sighing a little in pain. "…………Kim…"

Kimimaro nodded his head, turning his eyes back to the table, crossing his arms over each other and deciding to stare at them, too. "…Apology accepted." They both sat there in silence until Hana stormed out, Kiba's ear pinched between her fingers, glaring at them.

"What the hell are you two doing outside making Kiba walk around inside? Listen, I told Juugo to sleep in the master bedroom, so don't you _dare_ sleep outside here, Kim. You'll get sick again." She turned to Kiba. "What are you thinking? Forcing your friend awake when you know about his conditi–"

"Hana, sis, I'm not the one that refused to let him sleep. He is!" He reached for Shino, grabbing for him to pull him inside so he could take the meds he'd woken his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law to find. "Shino, come inside and take your meds! Kim, get some sleep! We need to wake up before noon!"

Hana glared and released him, slightly upset that she'd gotten her sleep disturbed, but walked back into the house with merely a "Tch," for her last two cents. Shino stood immediately and walked up the stairs, passing Kiba through the door and…rubbing against something he didn't really want to feel. Kim did the same, but Kiba had slipped in before he could have a heart attack at the sensation.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Running a hand through his twin's dirty blond hair probably wouldn't ever help him get his memory back, but Ukon refused to believe he couldn't affect his brother in some way. Sakon slept peacefully in his hospital bed, an I.V. pumping methadone into his system. He sighed and looked back up at the ceiling, letting his thumb trail over his brother's closed eyelid as he made his way to remove himself from the room to have at least some sort of break before the inevitable.

It twitched, and he removed his hand in a swift jerk, watching his twin's eyes flutter open. Eyelashes caressed the tip of his thumb as he pulled away, and his frown deepened. Sakon stared at him, that look of absolute unfamiliarity still echoing in his eyes.

"Mr – "

"Remember." It wasn't a question. He'd grown tired of asking if he'd remembered anything. The answer was always the same: either a pitiful "no" or a hopeful "yes" followed by an unrelated account to someone he could give two shits about, someone who wasn't a male nurse despite their uncaring appearance and bleached-white hair and rocker girlfriend with a kid she wanted to raise with him. Someone who still maintained some sense of sanity despite their world crumbling around them. He'd grown tired of asking; he wanted to demand. Demand that he remember his own brother for once.

"…I……. Sorry. I don't, M…Ukon…"

The nurse started to shake, eyebrows narrowing, fists clenching, lips trembling. "Remember me. You know all about us. You know all about me. I told you… You've…you've even seen the scars…" He closed his eyes, gripping onto the handle of the bed tightly, until his knuckles turned yellow-white. "Remember me…please…"

He wasn't one for religion–he took it for a load of shit–, but all he wanted to do right now was find whoever up there was in control of things down there and give him a nice slug in the jaw.

"…Did Kimimaro falling and hurting his knee at a party happen before or after I shoved him into a lake?"

Ukon turned around, unable to let the man see his face crumple, and for a sob to create a pocket in his throat, keeping him from speaking clearly.

"W…W…e…both…" He shook his head and wiped at his eyes, fury overtaking him. "We…We both… W-We both pushed that little nuisance in the fucking lake! We _both_ did!" He whirled around, grabbing his brother by the collar of his shirt, slapping him across the cheek. "Me. And. You. We're a fucking _team_!! _We_ pushed him in the lake!"

His brother's response was more like himself. Sakon snarled, putting a hand to his cheek as he shoved the man off of him, letting him fall backwards across the room, into the wall. "Don't fucking touch me. Don't you fucking _dare_ lay a finger on me. You are a _nurse_ and I am your patient. I will get you fired if you hit me again, you jackass. I'm _trying_ my hardest. I can't help what comes to me!"

"I've always been far less patient than you," Ukon yelled. "I have grown _tired_ of you remembering everyone _but_ me! I am _tired_ of your shit, Sakon! Maybe you _were_ an asshole!! Maybe everyone was right–maybe you only ever cared about yourself! Aren't you fucking _ashamed_ of yourself!? I give you _everything_ and you just blow me off to go shoot up and powder your fucking nose with your little posse! Who the hell do you think you are!? The king of the fucking world!? I am _tired_ of you and this act of yours!!"

The second those words left his brother's mouth, Sakon's jaw dropped, and his face fell. "What? This… It's not an _act_. The drugs–"

"They were good, weren't they!? They made you feel far better than I ever could, no matter how hard I tried to cheer you up and make you feel good about yourself! Check yourself out of this hospital, go back to your drugs! I am _through_ with waiting around for some _messiah_ to come and magically heal you!! I'm through with telling the other nurses to treat you better than they would themselves even though they tell me you're only getting what you deserve for abusing drugs. I'm through with having my hopes get shattered to pieces every single day… …I'm through with hating going to work when I used to look forward to nothing else but helping people…" He frowned, sighing heavily.

He turned, fleeing to the door.

"I'm through with being unable to help the only person I want to help more than anyone else."

Sakon's eyes widened. "W-Wait!"

Ukon turned around, but his heart wasn't in it anymore. He didn't even need to look hopeful–Sakon wouldn't remember him. Just like every time he said that phrase, Sakon would ask him some meaningless question that led to the inevitable: another dead end, another disappointment.

His brother's voice came out twisted, broken. "Are you ashamed of me?"

"Do you want me to lie?" Eyes glowered.

They stared each other down, Sakon's eyes slowly growing more distant, drying up and wilting. He looked toward the window, his voice almost monotone. He fisted the sheets over his legs and shut down.

"Forget I asked you that."

Sakon retreated into rough linen and bed sheets; Ukon retreated into sterile porcelain and grubby floor tiles.

He didn't want to forget the question: he wanted to forget the answer.

––––––––––––––––––––––

Stepping through the door to hospital was difficult enough due to all of the noise going on inside, but if one were to add the fact that he would potentially see a man who treated him like shit during high school, it became twice as hard. He turned back and looked at the two men behind him when he took a step toward the door, his lips curling into a small smile.

"Well, this is it."

"It is," Kimimaro said. "It's time, Kiba."

When he took another step and they followed, he turned and looked back at them, slightly off-put. "Shino, Kim, do you mind? I can do this by myself."

"Sakon," Shino replied instantly.

Kimimaro nodded his head as he backed up the taller man's statement. "Not only that, but Ukon is a little unbalanced recently. He's taking things hard, Kiba. There's no telling what he'll do…"

"He's nowhere near as bad as Sakon, though… I need to do this on my own, remember?"

Shino and Kimimaro both exchanged looks before stepping back away from the door. It was Shino who spoke next. "Kiba, if you…no…" He rubbed the back of his head. "Please, at least let us go with you as far as the waiting room. We won't shadow you and we won't crowd you, but at least let us inside."

"Alright." The brunet sighed, looking up at the sky. "You can come inside, but that is _it_."

They all walked through the sliding glass doors and Kiba instantly saw Ukon leaning against the front counter, talking to a nurse with shaggy black hair. In her hands there was a clipboard, and she was looking at him and smiling sadly. He frowned, rubbing his head and leaning down to say something he wanted to keep private to her. She reached over and patted him on the back, pouting.

As Kiba approached, Shino and Kimimaro fell backward and sat down in the chairs shoved against the back wall, near the doors. The brunet walked over, his steps shaky, his voice quiet.

"Ukon…"

The punk nurse turned to see his old friend standing right there, and his eyes widened. "Kiba… What are…" His lips curled, his eyes brightened. "Oh my…my God…I…eh… Are you… You are! You're here to see Sakon, aren't you!?" He grabbed Kiba by the shoulders and moved them up to his face, giving him a look like he was Jesus himself. "This is wonderful! He'll see you and remember–"

"I'm not here for Sakon."

Ukon dropped his arms from his shoulders, his eyes narrowing. "What?" He drew backward, taking a step back toward the counter, looking at the woman next to him. "He's not here for…" Face still turned to the woman, his eyes turned to Kiba, the smirk returning. "So you're here to visit _me_? Well, that's great!" He clapped his hands together and placed one hand behind the woman, pushing her toward the brunet. "Remember the girl I was telling you about?? Here she is! Her name is–"

"I'm here for the clue Mom left for me here."

"The…clue?" Confusion passed his face before realization set in, and he nodded his head. "Tsume's clue. Right."

Kiba gave him a small, hopeful smile. "You must've helped her… It's a heart monitor. Do you know where the next clue is?"

"I…" He narrowed his eyes further, nodding his head. "…do."

Kiba frowned. "I have to see Sakon in order for you to tell me, don't you?"

The answer the bleached-white-haired man gave caught both Kiba and the woman Ukon had been seeing off guard. "No, you don't have to see the bastard. There's no hope for him." She gave him a worried look, and Ukon grabbed Kiba's arm. "I'll tell you where the next clue is. She actually gave it directly to _me_. I keep it in my locker at work. Let's go."

"Uh, wait. Let me go tell them first."

"Why? W-Who?" Ukon looked back to see Kimimaro and Shino glaring at him, demanding he take his arms off the brunet with their eyes. His face fell, and he let go, walking over to the secret service Kiba had going for him.

"You two. The clue's in my locker. I'm taking him there. Not even ten minutes at the longest." When the two men looked at each other skeptically and decided there was nothing else they could do, he turned around back to Kiba, grabbing his arm and taking him through the door to the back of the hospital.

"Ukon, wai–"

Kiba and Ukon both looked back at the woman there, her face twisted, lips pursed, eyebrows knitted together. Kiba glanced at Ukon, frowned, and she shook her head. "Don't let the chief of staff catch your friend in the locker room, Ukon."

As the two walked back into the wing, Ukon continued to ramble on and on about his mother, throwing his hands in front of him for effect. "So, Tsume came to me with some scavenger hunt she has planned for you, and she admitted to me that she wanted me to hold onto a clue for her. Naturally, being the kind and generous guy that I am, I couldn't possibly refuse a dying woman's request: especially if this dying woman was my _best friend's_ mother! Well, I took her up on her offer and she gave me the clue and gave me the instructions on what to do with it. She told me to keep it in the room she'd been staying in, and I–"

"Why is it in your locker, then?"

"What?" When Kiba froze in his place, staring Ukon down, Ukon slowed down a bit and paused, looking back at him. "What do you mean?"

The brunet gave him a skeptical look and took a brief step back, glancing back toward the safety of the waiting room. "You said you were keeping it in your locker at work. Why…did you decide to move it there?"

"I…didn't," Ukon spoke slowly, averting his eyes to the wall to his left. "I only told Nami about it because if anyone knew I was hiding something like that in a room at the hospital, it would technically be breaking hospital regulations."

Kiba took a few steps toward him, his eyes softening, whispering, "Really?"

"Yes, it would be." The two continued to walk, and Ukon waved his hand toward him again. "See, I have to remove it every time someone comes by to clean the room. I've been keeping it nearby, in a safe place. I befriended the occupants who've taken up the room ever since, to make sure they will mention it to me if they find it. It's difficult, but those are the instructions Tsume gave me."

"I see."

They stopped in the hall, by a room that looked almost empty. Kiba went toward the door, glancing back at Ukon. "This is the room?"

Ukon stared at him for the longest time before he looked down at the ground, crossing his arms over his chest. "Kiba," he started. "I…I'm sorry."

"…For what?" His eyes widened, a thousand scenarios running through his head, and all of them ending terribly. He turned back to the room, seeing the bed looked laid-in, and his eyes darted back to his old friend staring back at him darkly through bleached-white bangs.

"We were close with you, Kiba."

"U-Ukon, wait, you said Sakon was–"

"He really looked up to your dad, Kiba, more-so than our own father. When your father died…it was because of you. You inadvertently killed him and…" He clenched his fists, his face twisting, eyes crinkling, his nose scrunching up. "…and Sakon left town. This morning I realized that it wasn't Sakon's fault at all. It was _yours_."

Kiba frowned, taking a step toward him, forcing a grin. "U-U-Ukon, you can't j-just… Sakon was the one who made the choice… He's the one that–"

"You have made me ashamed of my own brother! My own flesh and blood!"

A few nurses walking by glanced over at him, but he continued to stare at the brunet in the doorway. The second they passed and Kiba's heart skipped a beat, the brunet knew he needed to get out of there. It was like Kimimaro had said–Ukon had completely _snapped_ over the whole ordeal. He took a few steps toward his old friend, intent on pushing him out of the way and making a dash for the waiting room.

"Ukon…uh…this isn't like you… This isn't you talking, I know. You were always nicer than Sakon and–"

"Was I!? Was it _me_ or was he just misunderstood!? I don't even know anymore!! Everything is your fault! It's your fault he grew attached to your father, and it's your fault your father died, and it's your fault he completely lost it and skipped town!! He actually cried when you broke up with him, you know! If he didn't give a shit about you, why would he have been crying!? Why would he have been begging me to talk to you and make things right again!?"

Kiba's eyes flashed and he clenched his fists. "If he really asked you to make things right, why did you stop by and start trying to kill my dog!?"

"I _was_ making things right. You fuck with my family and I'll fuck with you. The closest family you had was that damn dog, you–"

Kiba grabbed him by the front of his scrubs. "Then why the hell did you tell me when I first got here that you realized you should've been kicking his ass!? If you _really_ felt like nothing was wrong with what you were doing–if you _really_ believed him–, then why would you say that!?"

Ukon pushed him back, thrusting him backwards and into the door frame. "I was confused! Now that he's back, my mind is clear!"

"That's a bunch of bullshit!! I told you he never once told me he loved me and you backed off! This 'blame' of yours is just your way of coping with his current amnesia! In the end, you're blaming me for the sake of someone to blame. God forbid your precious _brother_ be the one to blame for once!!"

"Don't you _dare–_"

"He fucking misses my dad so much: well, I'm just telling you what my dad would be saying if he were alive! Sure, Sakon fucked up bad and got involved with drugs, big whoop! That was _his_ decision to make, that was _his_ choice in the long run! You can't blame someone else for something he _chose_ to do! I may have inadvertently killed my dad, but your brother left town on his own accord! You say I made you ashamed of him, well you _should_ be ashamed! You _should_ be ashamed at him for getting involved into that, but to be ashamed for him in a vulnerable state like this is ridiculous, Ukon! The only reason why _you're_ ashamed is because you're angry at yourself for not being able to help him!"

Ukon stopped, his eyes going wide. "Wha– That's n–"

"The truth hurts! The only two people you have to blame for the situations both of you are in are yourselves! But you know what!? You move on! You fix the problem and move on! Now tell me where the clue for my mother is so I can do move on, too!!"

Before the punk nurse realized what he was doing, his mouth opened and the answer came spilling out–

"It's not here. Tsume told me…to put it in near the washer and dryer in the basement."

Kiba absorbed the information before he turned to glance back into the room, seeing the chart hanging up on the wall and recognizing the name. His eyes darted back to Ukon to see the man scratching his head at the weirdness over the whole ordeal. They'd been arguing…and then…he wasn't even angry anymore. In fact, relief was starting to wash over him, a warm feeling of contentment spreading through his chest.

From the room, they saw a face framed by dirty brown hair poke itself out of the bathroom door, a stunned look gracing it. The man stared at Kiba for the longest time before the brunet and bleached-white punk noticed him. His mouth slowly opened, and familiarity reached his eyes.

"You…You sound just like him…" His eyes widened even further. "You sounded just like Nareta just now." His jaw dropped. "When did you start taking after your father, fuggin' dick-fer-brains!?"

Kiba shuddered and took a step backward, knocking into a swaggering Ukon. The two collided and tripped up all over each other, falling to the ground. Kiba's head nearly went crashing into the tile as he fell backward, and Ukon fell forward, just barely missing a broken arm by a few lucky degrees. The two let out a cry that caused Sakon to chuckle.

When they both got to their feet, Ukon stormed into the room. "You remember Kiba!? You remember his father!?"

Sakon sighed, glancing over to the bed. He rubbed at his hair and nodded his head. "Don't get your fucking panties in a twist, dumbass. I can remember some things, but others are still foggy. It's not that big of a fucking deal." Then he laughed weakly and shook his head. "Why the fuck am I calling you a dumbass? I'm tired of all of this…"

"Tired of what!? You don't even want to try and remember your own brother!? You obviously felt a connection with Kimimaro since you somehow found your way over to his house the other night, but you don't–"

"P–u… No, I mean, Kiba…"

Kiba stood in the doorway, entranced by what was unfolding. His eyes focused onto the non-bleach-haired twin and gave him a confirming grunt followed by a, "Yeah?"

"I still have no idea what I did to you, but I feel guilty, so I guess I might as well apologize now. I'm sorry if I was a bastard or something."

"You were, and it's okay. I don't care anymore. I've got someone to help me move forward." He glanced at the two twins before he rubbed his hands together. He stared at the floor for a little while longer.

"Now get the fuck out of here. Go find that thing you wanted."

Kiba looked up to see Sakon turned toward the bed, messing with the I.V. in his arm a little and earning a slap from Ukon. He smiled and left the two alone, sure something good from come from it. The second his footsteps were heard dwindling down the hall, Sakon turned to Ukon and gave him a sad smile.

"…I hate myself," he finally said.

Ukon turned toward the bed, narrowing his eyes. He was about to say something mean to that when his brother continued on that train of thought and froze the very blood in his bones.

"I've _always_ hated myself."

His eyes turned to peer through bleached-white locks as he saw Sakon's shoulders slump submissively. "…Wha– You…You never told me anything about that… I would've–"

"You were always bragging about knowing exactly what I was thinking. I felt bad for thinking things completely different and never fucking spoke up about it." He climbed onto the bed and curled up a little, sighing and looking out the window. "I've remembered these feelings since I woke up in the hospital. I remembered I was ashamed of everything I'd ever done in the past. I didn't _want_ to remember what the fuck it was I did. I was _glad_ I'd forgotten. Some things excited me, like when you mentioned the fucking leash…but still…I felt like… It's…It's difficult to describe…"

His brother finally felt his knees turning to jelly and his chest start to tighten. "You…well…" He clenched his fist and it turned to anger. "You never let me help you. If you'd told me any of this shit I would've known how to help! All this time I couldn't help because I didn't know what the problem was!! Why didn't you tell me!?"

"I tried to hide it all… I was ashamed of how I felt…" His face fell and he shook his head, burying his head in his knees. "And yes, even now I don't recognize you. I know you're my brother… I know because you've fucking told me, but it's like I've never seen you before in my fucking life… Your face just doesn't register. I'm really sorry…"

Ukon swore and slumped down onto the bed next to him, giving him a pout. "Maybe it's _because_ we were so close that you don't remember me…" He frowned, raking a hand through his hair idly. He caught his ear and tugged on the stud pierced in the cartilage, on the side. "After that whole…argument…I gave it some thought and that's what I came up with. We were always together when we were kids. We did everything together and pretty much did the same things…so maybe you just remember me in time with you…or something."

"What the fuck do you mean?"

"We were conjoined at birth…so maybe you just think of us as one person in your mind… The drugs fucked up your head, so I could see that being a plausible train of thought…" He sighed and wiped at his eyes. "To be honest, I do the same thing. When I remember the past, I remember us as some sort of double team conjoined into myself. I always thought we thought the same. Maybe it's a twin thing?"

"Twins are _still_ completely separate fucking people, M–er, _Ukon_."

"A _conjoined_ twin thing."

"We were conjoined by a fucking chunk of flesh on our side, right? How would that affect how we _think_?"

"D-Did you just say our _side_? That should be a plura– Tch. You know what? Never mind. I'll just accept that as some weird drug-fuck-up quirk. It doesn't matter anymore about that. Just as long as you know I'm your brother. And as long as you know that–"

"I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for _now_?"

Sakon turned and looked at him before he sighed and shook his head. "I remember bits and pieces, and I remember why I left. I felt like my only connection to this town was pup's dad. When he died, I just felt like I couldn't fucking look at myself anymore. I was afraid to tell you anything because I was afraid–when I look at the feeling more closely I realize it was the fear that _you'd_ be ashamed of me…even though I didn't know you were my twin…if that makes any fucking sense. So I left…"

"The paramedics said they found you on the side of the road _here_. That means you came back…"

"I was never very far away. I can't remember the fuck where, but I remember something always kept me from straying too far from this town. I was…" He stared at his knees for the longest time before he nodded his head and looked back at Ukon. "I was coming back to start over. I heard Mr. Nareta's wife died, so I figured I could apologize to his son and start over… I can't really remember what fucking happened or what drugs I took to wind up in the fucking hospital…but I'm sure it was something I had on me."

"It was."

"Oh."

The brothers sat in complete silence for a while. The sound of thumping in one of the other rooms and out in the halls filled the room. Soon, the loud chuirping from the cicadas could be heard faintly through the window, where they were resting on a tree near the building, and Sakon finally looked over at Ukon.

"I'm fine with this fucking foggy memory of mine."

Ukon turned and looked back at him, his face falling. "…E…Even if you don't remember me?"

He smiled. "Well, you're not going to fucking let me leave, so we've got time to make a clusterfuck of new memories, right?"

Ukon stifled a laugh and shook his head. "I just realized how often you say fuck, bro. You _really_ like to say it. I'd say that was your first addiction ever. Maybe we should work on that along with the drugs, eh? You'll never get a job if you talk worse than a sailor."

"Does this mean you don't mind me starting over?"

Ukon laughed, a few tears welling up in his eyes. "O-Of course not. I'm just glad to have you back… You might not remember me as your brother, but the bond is still there running deep and you're talking to me more openly than you did before. If you want to start over–"

"Even if it means with Kidoumaru?"

His brother's jaw dropped. "No fucking way. I won't allow _that_. With _Spidernerd_!? Seriously!?"

"Spidernerd?"

"That's the name _you_ came up for him, dumbass! He was a major nerd in high school, coke-bottle glasses and _everything_!! It was obvious by how you acted around him that you _hated_ him!"

"…I never hated him. I found him fucking annoying…but it was just the fact that he was always watching us like he wanted us to suddenly walk over and befriend him that annoyed me. He…acted just like how I felt on the inside… I hated _looking_ at him because I hated myself. He's not like that anymore." There was a short pause before he looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully. "And he's got a nice ass."

"That's more information than I needed to know."

"Seriously, and with him insi–"

"_You _take it in the ass!?"

Sakon's face tinged pink and he rubbed the back of his head. "Wh…What? Is that _strange_?"

"Well, yeah!" He stared at his brother, his eyes wide and jaw dropped, flabbergasted. "You always bragged about being on top!"

"I'm tired of all of that. Bragging and trying to one-up people, trying to make myself appear stronger than I really am. You were always stronger than me, Ukon. You knew how to fucking care about people instead of yourself. I was always concerned with myself because I wanted to fix the loathing I'd developed for myself. I'm fucking _tired_ of acting all high and mighty. That's why I don't give a shit with your rules and the leash you've got me on. I don't fucking _care_ because I'd rather take orders now than give them. I dried all of that up growing up. So just…" He paused to see Ukon in tears, and he looked away quickly.

"Ukon…I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I know it seems like I'm not myself…"

The nurse just smiled and shook his head. "Just…do whatever makes you happy, bro. If the shit you're saying is true, you're acting more like yourself than you were before this incident. I'm just a bit surprised is all." He snickered, grabbing his brother's cheek and pulling on it playfully. "When you say you don't remember me as your brother, it goes doubly for me, too, ya know! It's like I'm talking to a stranger, too!"

"Good. I was just worried."

"Don't be. We shouldn't be worrying about each other after nearly worrying ourselves into an early grave for the past week. Oh! So, about Kiba…were you genuinely interested in him or were you just in it to make yourself feel better about yourself?"

The other twin looked away and scratched his face. He thought about it for the longest time before he looked back over at Ukon. "I…actually preferred that Kimimaro's sureness than the brunet's dominating nature. I'm not really sure. I start to get that feeling of loathing every time I try to fucking remember what happened during the three years we dated. Er, was it Kido…? No…you corrected me. Nevermind. Yeah. During the three years me and Mr. Nareta's son dated, I can't remember back to that point without hurting. That part of my fucking memory is foggy, and I'd prefer to keep it that way."

"I'm sure Kiba would prefer that, too." He nodded his head before jerking it back toward him, his jaw dropping. "Wha– Ki-_Kimimaro_!? Didn't you hate him for hugging you the first time you two met!?"

"Quit sounding so fucking surprised! You should be fucking used to this by now, dumbass!!"

He punched Ukon in the arm and managed to get the bleached-white-haired punk laughing. This time he was laughing genuinely, feeling complete for the first time in six months. After a short while, Sakon chuckled and rested his head back against the wall. He didn't really understand it himself, but he knew he felt complete for the first time in a long time as well.

–––––––––––––––––––––––

For the first time since his mother died, he felt sure of himself. Before, when he told himself he'd get better and move on, it was in a broken, shattered sort away, but not anymore. Now he felt stronger than he did before, with his own means…not just with Shino's help and his friends' constant attention.

What Sakon had said was true: he had sounded exactly like his dad. It was empowering. For the first time, he felt like he could suck up everything and move on with his life for once. He'd go back to the city with Shino, get his job back and start working double-time, earning money and acting like himself again. He'd buy a house or his own apartment and live there with Akamaru. Maybe he'd live there with Shino; maybe he wouldn't. It was all a matter of how he looked at his life right now. He had a mother who had loved him so much, a father that had tried to get him to grow up and move out on his own, a sister who looked out for him more than she looked out for herself at times, friends who cared about him deeply, and Shino, too.

Kimimaro walked behind him down the steps of the basement, and Shino followed close behind after that. The low hums of the dryer and washer resounded through the air, and Kiba's eyes widened.

Hana was doing the laundry…and the CD was…

His voice turned into a hushed whisper after a feeble whimper erupted from the depths of his throat.

"Wh…Wh-Wh-What are you doing…"

Hana didn't seem to notice them behind her, and she flipped through a magazine idly. Shino and Kimimaro placed a hand on his shoulders, and Kiba started to shake.

"Hana, what have you done?"


	30. Party Time, Sort Of!

_Chapter Thirty. I thought it should be a big deal, since Kiba IS thirty in this story. And he turned thirty in chapter…fourteen? Yes. Fourteen. (This is also sorta in celebration for breaching the 200thou word barrier, too.)_

_So I decided to do something fun for you all. Have some fun with Neji and Sasuke, a little bit of Shikamaru and his "budding" love life, and Chouji and his…er…failing love life. Also, a little bit more of Hanabi and her father arguing over Hinata and Naruto's wedding. They all take part on separate days during the weeks with the scavenger hunt–_

_So, a week after the Friday - Sunday of Chapter Twenty is continued here. _

_Because I took so long to update the last chapters and it's not fresh in everyone's brains, I was sure you'd all get confused with the order in everything that happened. So, I wrote you all this neat little chronologic list._

_**Friday**__: The barbeque scene in which Kiba cried. Shino admitted his feelings of questioning his existence. Kiba left and tried to sleep with Kidoumaru._

_**Saturday:**__ The first day of the Scavenger Hunt. Kiba and Shino go and visit his mother's grave. (I completely forgot to have them visit his father's grave which was _right_ next to hers, oops.) He finds out he has to face his deepest darkest fear of bees. Shino finds out Kiba's feelings for him but keeps it a secret until he's ready._

_**Sunday:**__ Kiba faces his fear of bees and Shino gets sexually pursued by the forward Suzumebachi. Kiba finds out Shino's feelings for him but keeps it a secret until Shino's ready. He finds out he may have to go to the hospital to find the next clue._

_**Monday:**__ Kimimaro and Shino have that talk about his crush in high school that got stolen away by Ukon–Hiruma Natsume. (Her name is important. Engrave it in your memory.) Kiba goes to the hospital, Ukon and Sakon bond after Sakon spills the beans and gets a good portion of his memories back. Kiba goes home to realize Hana is doing the laundry…where the next clue is supposed to be. _

_Is all hope lost? Is the clue destroyed for good? Will Kiba be able to hear his mother's voice again?? Find out in the next chapter. For now, just sit back and enjoy a break from all of the angst surrounding Kiba._

_Is it sad that I'm falling more in love with Sasuke and Neji's blooming relationship in terms of realism rather than Shino and Kiba's?

* * *

  
_

**Must Love Dogs  
**_Scene 30_

…

…

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Friday; 12:20 P.M.  
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"I'm so _huuuuuungry_," wailed the rather large man in the corner of the Baked Alaska sandwich shop. He looked back down at his empty basket and glanced back wistfully at the expansive selection of desserts.

Shikamaru just rolled his eyes and patted him on the back. "Look, Chou, you have to have moderation… You can't just decide to eat sweets just because you miss–" He cut himself off when Chouji looked back at him with tears threatening to fall welling up in his eyes.

"I…I can't help it if I miss her, Shikamaru. She was my _world_!!" He whimpered fitfully and buried himself in his hands, turning his face to the table. "Hinata…I miss her sooo muuuuuch…"

A cough from the opposite side of the table caused him to look up at Sakura, a dribble of snot leaking from his nose. She stood up abruptly and slammed her fist into the table, nearly breaking it. "You big crybaby!! Look, I don't know Hinata, but I'm sure she would get as pissed off at you as I am by the way you're acting! Have you ever thought that _this_ is the why she–"

Shikamaru shook his head and cut her off almost immediately, and Chouji narrowed his eyes. "Why she…_what_? Why she broke off the engagement? You think that's _why_?" He stood up, looking her up and down. "You think that's why she broke off the engagement, don't you!? She broke off the engagement because her father didn't approve of the marriage!!"

Sakura just laughed and pointed at him accusingly. "I _know_ why! You mention it almost every time you start to remember her! If you really loved her you'd steal her away! _That's_ why she went through with the marriage with this Naruto fellow, because you're too much of a crybaby and not man enough to take what you want!!"

"It's not that simple," he pleaded.

"It's as simple as you make it, and you're complicating things. If you want to make things complicated, just go off and wallow in self-pity, listen to your Robert Smith and mope around about never seeing her again. If you want to make things simple, go to her house and demand that her father reconsider. He doesn't think you're right for her, and you're not really making him think otherwise, _are_ you??"

Chouji's eyes widened and he stared at her for the longest time. His eyes darted to Shikamaru and his cheeks tinged pink. "You didn't tell her that I listen to the Cure, did you?" When Shikamaru shook his head, Chouji looked back down at the table. He frowned.

"I just…lost all confidence when her father told me I wasn't the type of person that deserved to even associate with his daughter…" He glanced at Shikamaru and the two shared a knowing look. He wouldn't admit it in public, but it was probably the most damaging thing anyone could say to him–that he wasn't fit to even associate with the woman he loved. The fact that he was so far from his hometown just made him that more vulnerable. He'd told Shikamaru so many times that he wanted to go home and talk to his father about it, but his work here kept him from doing that. Instead, he'd spent countless hours racking up enormous phone bills to try and get some reassurance from his parents.

Sakura's eyes softened and she sat back down. "Look, I understand what it means to lose confidence because of what people tell you." Ever since Shikamaru had caught her in the act, she'd been just a little bit more real around them. After a moment, she took a bite of her sandwich and looked up at the ceiling, staring off into space like she was in another world. "How about we make a deal, Chouji…"

Chouji looked at her, wiping the tears from his eyes. "A…deal? What kind of deal?"

"You thought I made a wonderful Scarlet O'Hara when you saw me in that showing of 'Gone with the Wind', right?"

"Yes, it was so _real_. I can't understand why you're working an office job instead of that…"

"I'll go back to the theatre if you marry Hinata."

"Wh…What? I _can't_. She's getting married to Naruto Uzumaki. Against a guy like that, there's no _way_ her father will…eh… She'd be lowering her standards if she chose me over him!"

Sakura smiled at him and crossed her fingers underneath her chin. She gave him a warm smile and shook her head. "I don't think she'd be lowering her standards at all, Chouji. You may not have what he has, but you've got so much more."

He turned slightly pink and poked his fingers together in a very Hinata-like gesture. "Uh…you…you think so?"

Shikamaru noticed the gesture and clamped a hand on his best friend's shoulder, grinning. "You may not have his looks or wealth, but you're the perfect match for someone like Hinata, Chou. You two are _perfect_ for each other. Naruto can't compete with that, even if there _are _so many obstacles for you to overcome."

"Well…I…I just…" He wiped at his again. "I _can't_!! What if she tells me I'm too late!? I can't just… I can't just walk up to her house and make a fool of myself! If I go there and she tells me I'm too late, her father will laugh at me for my foolishness, she'll probably get upset and cry about hurting my feelings, and her sister will probably sneer at me for not acting sooner!! No! I won't do it!"

Shikamaru sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "You're thirty years old and you're _still_ afraid of rejection?"

"I know," Chouji moaned. "I'm pathetic…"

Sakura took a bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully, all the while mentally shouting at Shikamaru that he had no room to talk. "What if you were to show up at the wedding, uninvited?" She tossed an idea out there and looked at the bigger man to see if it landed.

His face paled for a brief moment before he went bright red. "I…I can't do that. That's just _begging_ to look like a fool…"

"It's awfully romantic, and if she still harbors feelings for you and you crash the wedding, it would be the most _amazing_ love story to tell your children…"

"No," Chouji forced through clenched teeth. "I won't do it. It's just…low. _You_ may think it's romantic…but it would seem too much like I were _forcing_ her into something. I can't ask that of her…"

Sakura sighed and shrugged her shoulders. When she turned to look at Shikamaru, she saw him staring directly at her, deep in thought. Snapping out of himself, he focused on her and the two shared a look for a fleeting moment. As if they could read each other's minds, Sakura stood up abruptly. "Excuse me, boys, but I have to use the girl's room."

Shikamaru stood as well. "Chou, why don't I order you a dessert?"

"Ah, alright," the bigger man mumbled.

She made her way to the bathroom and Shikamaru approached the counter. Almost immediately afterward, she skipped out of the bathroom and sidled up next to him at the counter. Both of them spoke in quick whispers.

"You're thinking what I'm thinking, aren't you?" Sakura muttered.

He nodded his head and held out his hand to the woman behind the counter. "A slice of strawberry cheesecake, please." He glanced at Sakura out of the corner of his eye.

"Yes, I am. And, just so we're clear, he's _not_ the type to just stand there and watch someone kiss Hinata, even if he _did_ lose his confidence."

She nodded her head. "And, if what you told me the other day was true, then it's safe to say she still harbored feelings for him and still has all this time. There's no way she'd call him up to tell him she was glad she was marrying Naruto if she didn't want him to say something in protest. If this is alright with you, then let's make it happen, Mr. Nara."

He received the slice of cheesecake and paid for it, winking at her.

"After you, Miss Haruno."

The pair sat back down at their table, and Shikamaru handed the cheesecake off to his friend and Chouji began eating it heartily, his strength renewed with the introduction of sweets to his system. Sakura tilted her chin in her hand, her voice cooing.

"Chouji, Shikamaru…I was wondering if you two would like to come to my niece's baptism. I know the idea seems rather strange and, since both of you don't know my family, it would be rather unorthodox, but I can convince my sister to let you come if I tell her you two have helped me at home at the company. She'd consider you part of the family for being so kind to me and it would certainly help you cheer up, Chouji…"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes and gave her a weak look, as if asking if _that_ was the story she really chose to give Chouji.

Sakura smiled, adding onto the deal. "I have a few cousins who might be interested in you two…"

Chouji shook his head. "I don't know… No one can compare to Hinata…"

"You're in luck! You see, my youngest cousin Sasaki is around twenty-seven and…uh…" She looked at Shikamaru as Chouji buried himself in his dessert, and the thinner man began pantomiming. "Uh…big…big-chested…p-pale-skinned…short-haired, and has glasses– No! Big eyes, yes, big eyes!"

Chouji immediately turned his eyes to her. "Short-cropped, dark hair like the darkest nori that goes to her chin? Pale skin like butter cream? Cheeks that flush baby pink like icing…" Sakura looked over at Shikamaru and he just gave her a look that told her he was used to hearing things like this. The big guy continued into a big rant that passed out of the realm of food and into describing his ex-fiancée's body. Finally, when he was done, he looked at Sakura. "Is your youngest cousin like that?"

Sakura nodded her head and smiled at him, although inside she could see herself clenching her fists and screaming something about this guy liking food _waaaaaay_ too much. "Of course she is, Chouji."

Shikamaru laughed. "Yeah, Chou. I'll bet this Sasaki has double-D's and everything."

Chouji gave a long sigh, rubbing at his head. "Well…I'm still not over Hinata yet… Losing her has just been so traumatic for me…"

"Wouldn't you rather move past this chapter of your life and into another, Chouji? My cousin Sasaki is very sweet. I think you'd like her…"

After what felt like an eternity he finally nodded his head.

"…I want to move on. I'm tired of hurting over this."

––––––––––––  
Saturday; 1:06 P.M.  
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Hiashi Hyuuga sat at his desk, browsing stocks and keeping tabs on his company's activities all at once. The phone rang once, twice, and he glared, looking back toward the phone hanging on the wall behind him.

"Hanabi!" He shouted and she came, holding the phone against her ear.

She glared at him spitefully and he glared right back. After a brief moment she nodded her head. "Yes, Hinata Hyuuga lives here." There was a brief pause before her face fell. "Again? Well, what's going to happen to her now?" She paled. "…Fired? But, wait, she's a hard-worker! Can't you give her another chance or something?? …You've already given her _three_!? She's only been working there for a week, hasn't she!?" She glared, her fingers clenching against the phone so her knuckles turned white. "Well, perhaps we should bring this up to the manager!!" Her face flushed and she laughed nervously. "Oh…you're the manager? Well…surely we can reach a–" Her eyebrows furrowed when the dial tone sounded in her ear.

Her father stared at her. "What happened?"

She hit the off button and looked down at the carpet. "Hinata was fired again. Apparently she was late for work this morning…again… This was the fourth time and the manager said at the beginning when he interviewed her that he needed her to be punctual every day…"

The girls' father narrowed his eyes before he looked back at his computer, detaching himself. "…She's been sleeping in again. She has been ever since that oaf came here asking if he could marry her." Hiashi tapped something into the computer. "I did a background check on that man. Do you want to know what I found, Hanabi?"

"What did you find?" She could have cared less, but she decided to humor the old man.

"His parents own a diner out west. Can you believe that?"

Hanabi gave him a hopeful smile. "Well, he's also the child of someone who owns a business. That's–"

"It's a diner, Hanabi. His parents are probably a bunch of hicks."

Hanabi frowned, crossing her hands over her chest and rolling her eyes. She threw something out there, hoping her father could see her sister's true colours and realize he was making a huge mistake. "Hinata has been sleeping in. Before she was crying in her room all day, but she doesn't anymore."

"That means she's gotten better. This marriage with Naruto has lifted her spirits."

"She's still sleeping in and her job suffered because of it. Surely you see something wrong with that picture, old man."

He ignored her insult and shook his head. "Her job suffered because she didn't try hard enough. If she wants to take over my company, she's going to have to show she's responsible enough. The way things are looking, she's proving she's not up to the task."

"Have you ever thought that she doesn't _want_ to take over the company? That she _doesn't_ want to marry Naruto? And also that she could give two shits what happens to her as long as she makes _you_ happy!? She's willing to throw away her own freedom to make you happy, Dad!"

Hiashi turned, finally, to look at Hanabi. His eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. "_What_ did you just call me? You just called me–"

"Daddy, Hinata doesn't want to take over the company! Why can't you listen to what _she_ wants for once!?"

"And how would _you_ know what she wants? Does she tell you?"

"I just _know_. I can see it when I look at her."

"Then can you explain to me why she _wouldn't_ want to take over the company? Her taking over the company would be a _very_ good move for her. She would never have to worry again. She'd have enough money to support herself and–"

"She'd worry about losing the company all the time and you know it! She doesn't want the company because she doesn't _care_ about any of that! Her interests have always been different than yours! She doesn't want to take over a company she's not interested in. Daddy, do you even _know_ what she likes!? What she likes to do with her free time?? She likes gardening. She likes dancing. She likes music and she likes the theatre! She likes cooking, Dad, _cooking_!! Not math, not proper business practices. _Normal_ things, things that _Chouji_ likes, not _Naruto_! She would go out to Broadway performances with him and out to dinner and out dancing! She wants to be _normal_."

"And what do _you_ want, Hanabi? You want my company, and it's obvious you're going to try and get Hinata out of my will in any way you can." He narrowed his eyes. "The next time you call me 'daddy' or 'dad', use it without any ulterior motives." He pointed for the door to his office. "Get the hell out of my office and stop meddling."

She glared at him and turned around, storming out the door. "You're a fool, old man. You are _blinded_ by all of that money you've wracked up over the years. I _do_ want the company, but I want my sister to be happy as well."

"I'm sure you do, Hanabi."

"I thought you did, too, but it's obvious _all_ you care about is your damn company!"

Hanabi stomped out of her room and out onto the balcony on the second story. She sighed, staring up at the blue, blue sky. A few moments later, a sound from her sister's bedroom window caused her to look over. Hinata was there at the door that connected the balcony to her room, and she opened the door. After a brief moment of staring at her younger sister, she finally approached her.

"Thank you, Hanabi." She'd probably heard everything.

Hanabi frowned. "I'm sorry Daddy's too stupid to see how much you're hurting."

"You don't need to apologize," she said as she went to the banister and stared at the ground below thoughtfully.

"But he can't do it himself, so I have to apologize for him."

Hinata smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine with this, Hanabi. This…marriage…it's okay. I'm fine with it." Her sister turned to look at her and wiped at her eyes. Hinata continued, still staring. It looked as if she were drowning, as if a deep current had swept her out to sea and she wasn't even trying to struggle back for the shore. "Even if I wind up marrying someone I won't love, and even if I'll take over the company one of these days… E-Even if I wind up having nothing I can call my own and nothing I can do to be free…it's okay. As long as Daddy's happy and you're happy, I'm happy." She placed her hand over her sister's hand. "So don't apologize for him, Hanabi. I'm fine with this."

Hanabi shook her head and started to cry. "I'm not fine with it."

"It's not your decision to make. I _chose_ to go through with this. You might think it's because I don't have to heart to tell Daddy how I feel, but it's…" She fell silent, looking back down to the ground below. That was exactly the reason, now that she thought about it. "…It's not your decision to make, Hanabi."

"Well, it _should_ be. It _should_ be _yours_, too. Daddy's obsessed with you learning to stand on your own two feet, but he doesn't even realize that he's made it impossible for you. If it were _my_ decision, we'd _both_ get to do what we wanted. Hell, even _Neji_ would get to do whatever the fuck he wants to do with his life. I'd take over the company and he'd be my advisor and you'd get to marry Chouji."

"…I can't marry Chouji."

"You _can_."

"Neji works with him, Hanabi. He said Chouji's involved with a girl at the office. Some girl named TenTen, so he's already moved on. I know you want me to marry Chouji, but that's just not possible anymore. So don't worry about it."

"Would you be angry if I called him and asked him who TenTen was? I just… Neji seems like the type of guy who'd be a total douche bag to appeal to Daddy. He wants to take over the company like I do…"

"…Called who? Neji?"

"No, Chouji."

"If you want. Oh, but if you _do_ call him, be sure to–"

Before Hinata even had a chance to tell Hanabi that Chouji lived with someone else, the girl had left the balcony to go do some research of her own.

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Saturday; 9:12 P.M.  
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"Ahhh, that was actually a pretty good meal, wouldn't you say, Chou?"

Chouji patted his stomach and nodded his head as Shikamaru tossed the keys to the apartment off to the table by the door. The thinner man stretched lazily and went immediately to the bachelor-worn couch in the center of the room. He turned on the television that was getting too old to watch and sprawled out.

"We should definitely take Sakura out for dinner again some time. She knows the best restaurants."

Chouji made a grunt in agreement and went into the kitchen to get a beer. "Yeah, she does. I was surprised, though. And who was that man who kept glaring at you at dinner? I can't remember what his name was."

"Oh, he said his name was Kankurou, didn't he?"

"Yeah. Didn't it seem like Sakura was trying to make him jealous? She was hanging all over you all night."

"It certainly seemed that way, didn't it? After all, _she_ was the one that invited him in the first place, too…"

"I was surprised she didn't invite TenTen."

Shikamaru grumbled and knocked the beer out of Chouji's hand, sending it to the ground. The bigger man stared down at the beer he'd had yet to drink from, his jaw dropping. "Hey now, Shikamaru! It's a _good_ thing she didn't invite TenTen! She was all over you, remember?? You were blushing all night because her boobs were up against your arm! Don't get testy with me!"

Shikamaru stuck his tongue out at his old friend, folding his arms over his chest and turning his eyes back to the television. "Clean that mess up, man."

"I'm not the one that made it."

"Yes, you are. The can came from _your_ hand."

"After _your_ foot kicked it out of there!"

"Circumstantial at best. The evidence is there on the ground."

"The evidence is my own eyes, you moron! You kicked it out of my hand!"

"Then why don't I remember it?" Shikamaru smirked, and Chouji went ballistic.

"What the hell is your problem!? You're acting so _childish_ right now!! I regret explaining Temari to Sakura now, Shikamaru! I may deserve Hinata, but you don't deserve TenTen at all with that attitude of yours, you fucking _smartass_!!" He stormed out of the room and slammed the door to his bedroom with almost enough force to knock the door off its hinges.

Shikamaru sighed and grabbed for the remote at the other end of the couch. His hand couldn't reach it unless he leaned over, so he decided to just sit there and stare at the television screen. Ah, white noise. He _loved_ this channel. Yes, yes, yes. It was the greatest channel in the world, wasn't it? He glanced back over at the remote and leaned a little bit, reaching for it. His fingers grazed the plastic but aside from that, nothing.

This channel was good enough. It wasn't like he needed to _dive_ for the remote or anything…

The phone rang.

He looked up and stared at it by his ear, but didn't feel like expending the energy to reach behind himself over the back to grab the phone from the table behind the back of the couch.

The phone rang again.

Well, he couldn't watch this amazing channel with that phone ringing every two seconds, could he? He turned his head in annoyance, finally reaching over a little and grabbing it off the receiver. Before the person even had a chance to grumble about him not answering after the first ring, he said, in the most debonair, masculine and alert voice he could muster, "You have reached the Akimichi and–"

"Finally you answer your damn phone!! Neji tells me you're interested in TenTen!"

He blinked, his voice hitching. A _woman_ was on the phone. Who the hell was _she_?? This didn't sound like anyone he knew, and, for that matter, how the hell had Neji found out about his feelings for TenTen? Who _was_ this!?

"Uh, excuse me, but I think–"

"You _do_, don't you?"

"Uh…er…y-yes, but–"

"You asshole! I actually felt you were right for my sister, but you've had some other girl on the side, haven't you!?"

His face paled. Temari didn't have any sisters, and he didn't think he came off as having a special relationship with the blonde, either… It couldn't be Kankurou or even the youngest brother…Gaara? Yes, it couldn't have been them, so who the fuck was calling him!?

"You can have this TenTen! I can't believe I felt _sorry_ for you!"

The woman on the other line hung up the phone and soon he was overpowered by the dial tone. He stared ahead of him for what felt like an hour before he finally pulled it away from his ear and looked at the phone in his hand.

"What was _that_ all about?"

––––––––––––––  
Saturday; 11:21 P.M.  
––––––––––––––––

He peeled off her shirt, throwing it off to the ground of his room. She sighed, pressing her lips against his. After a few moments of heated kissing, he began fiddling with the button on his jeans.

"I want you to tell me the truth. Do you love me?"

The woman underneath him stopped, staring up at him with a worried expression. Her eyes narrowed as her hands unclenched themselves from his brown hair. "…We _just_ met, and I don't even know your name. How the hell could I love you? Is this some sort of pillow talk?" He leaned down and kissed her neck, but she pushed him back. "This is making me uncomfortable. Get the hell off of me, you freak! No, I don't love you!"

He smiled, whispering into her dark hair. "Good. I just want someone who's real with me…"

She paused for a moment, her lips twitching just slightly. "Someone…who's real with you? I've been real with you since the moment we met."

"That's why I want to fuck you."

Her eyebrows knitted together, but his sincerity and forwardness seemed charming, in its own fucked-up way. This wasn't the normal type of pillow talk she usually got when she met a stranger at a bar and went home with them. He wasn't even _trying_ to butter her up like most guys did. He seemed like the type of person who'd say "Hell yes" if she asked him if she looked fat in these jeans. "You're a strange person," she mumbled. "Do you mind if I ask what your name is?"

"Kankurou. And you?"

"I'm Kin," she whispered with a smile as he pressed his lips against her neck.

On the other side of town, in a cramped little karaoke bar, a pink-haired ex-actress sat, staring ahead wistfully at the stage. She'd been staring at the stage like that for two hours, wanting desperately to go up there and sing but finding her feet planted on the floor. Now it wasn't a matter of something blocking her from moving, no. Instead, something now stirred in her and she was completely captivated by the emotions coming from the stage.

A woman was up there, singing her heart out in a beautifully moving rendition of "Wind Beneath My Wings." Her voice was pitchy and she had a hard time holding the note at the right octave, jumping every once in a while, but none of it seemed to matter when the tears streaming down her face were so obvious, like tiny, sparkling pearls rolling down her cheeks.

A lump formed in Sakura's throat as she watched the woman, and soon she found a few tears fresh on her cheeks. When the final note ended and the music faded, silence settled in the bar like a disease. A few people coughed as the woman stepped off the stage, but Sakura stood, clapping through her tears.

Nearly everyone turned and looked at her as if she were crazy. The moment soon passed as a few girls jumped onto the stage, giggling and laughing. The intro to "I Kissed A Girl" started and soon the girls on stage were belting out beautifully-pitched, empty lyrics. Everyone turned to look at them, and people started cheering them on. Sakura fell back into her seat and wiped at her eyes, staring at the stage and the girls up there laughing as they sang, wowing everyone with how great their voices were. She clawed a hand through her hair and looked away.

Her eyes locked with a man sipping a drink on the other side of the room. Eye contact held for one or two seconds before she looked away. Before she even noticed, he was taking a seat next to her. Without looking at her, he nodded his head up to the stage, watching the girls.

"It's cruel, isn't it? Songs like this get popular overnight while so many more meaningful songs are lost to the main-stream. Overlooked because the beat isn't something you can dance to easily, overlooked because the band isn't attractive enough to get a lot of teenagers fawning over them…"

She turned her eyes to the floor. "Overlooked because the singer doesn't sound as beautiful as others," she whispered.

He finally turned and looked at her. "I've been watching you for a while, but when you finally met my gaze, I couldn't help but be captivated by your lonely eyes. I had to walk over; it was like a spell had been cast."

She chuckled and looked down at the table, wiping at the tears drying on her cheeks. "Lonely eyes, huh? That is the most poetic line I've ever received…and a man I dated once came up to me quoting Romeo's 'a rose by any other name' speech…"

The two trailed off into silence as the music changed into an equally empty song. He finally smiled. "Unfortunately it's not a line. I'm genuinely interested. I couldn't help but notice your tears when you stood up and clapped… Does that song hold an intimate meaning to you?"

"Intimate?" She forced a laugh. "What a strange way of asking if it's close to my heart…but, no. I was just moved to tears by how heartfelt she sang that song even though her singing wasn't amazing."

"It doesn't matter how you sound as long as you sing from the heart, does it? Robert Smith is a very emotional singer and he sounds terrible, doesn't he? Yet, during the eighties his songs were popular." He watched her nod her head sadly for a moment before he pointed toward the stage. "D…Do you want to sing? You've been staring at the stage all night."

She forced another laugh, shaking her head. "No. I'm fine. I just like to _watch_ people sing is all."

As if seeing right through her, he set his drink back on the table and leaned over. "If you'd like, we can go back to my place and you can sing there. The audience I usually rent the spare room out to was finally kicked out, so you won't have to worry about their reaction."

Chuckling honestly, her hands curled her around her mouth. After a while she looked up at him, dropping her hands and smiling sincerely the first time all night. She leaned toward him, sighing with that funny little smirk on her face. "You're funny, but I'm afraid if I came back to your place and sang for you, you'd be disappointed."

He leaned back, motioning toward the door. "Would you like to walk with me? I want to smoke and this place is too crowded."

She nodded her head and soon they were walking down the street, looking down at the sidewalk. Cars passed and people passed, conversations loud, noises loud, but it felt as if they were the only people on earth at that moment. He lit up a cigarette and took a drag, looking up at the night sky drowned out by lights.

"Singing isn't so much as getting enough air behind your voice as it is learning how to push the sound out of your lungs in the right way. The mouth plays a big part in singing. Most people don't take that into account, so even women with a very mature voice can sound pulled thin and small, like a child."

She looked over at him, and he looked back at her, smiling. "I'm a voice coach. I get so many people coming to me with wonderful voices that just need a little help. You'd be surprised with how many people can actually sing quite well if they just learned how to breathe properly. That woman back there, the one at the bar, was just slightly tone-deaf. She was probably one of those types that was easily influenced by outside stimuli. With the proper coaching, she would've improved quite a lot. She didn't know where to breathe, and she couldn't sustain notes for a long period of time because of it." He chuckled and looked back up at the sky, taking another drag from his cigarette.

Sakura stared at him in awe, mesmerized.

"Still, there are some people who just don't have a powerful voice, no matter what they try to do to fix it. Voices are…complex, and there are many intricacies in sound production. In the end, you can only get as good as what you were born with. Most improve after going to a coach, even if they _are_ tone deaf. They might hold notes longer or sing a bit stronger. In the end, it all depends on how far someone is willing to go for improvement and what they have to work with."

"What's your name?" She asked before even realizing she wanted to know what it was. To her surprise, he didn't look angry. Instead, he looked over and smiled again, taking another drag from his cigarette. He blew a few smoke rings and winked at her.

"Not unless you tell me yours first."

"I'm Sakura," she spoke blindly again.

"I'm Zaku. It's a pleasure." He extended his hand.

She smiled and took it. His hand grabbed hers firmly and, in spite of the night air being chilly, it was incredibly warm. It almost seemed as if there was some connection to the stage again. In that moment when he squeezed her hand in his, it almost felt like those handshakes she received from the producers after a good performance or an audition that she nailed dead-on, without question. It was like she was in the theatre all over again, and the feeling wasn't bothering her at all.

"The pleasure's all mine," she insisted.

–––––––––––––  
Sunday; 2:00 P.M.  
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Neji stretched on the couch in time with the cat lying on his stomach. He'd been over at Sasuke's apartment often as of late, and as a result, Whiskers had warmed up to him. He looked down at the cat and the cat looked up at him, and the two shared a catty-grin on either end.

"I love lazy Sunday afternoons, Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up from his spot at the kitchen/living room table, where he was busy on his laptop, day-trading. He glanced back at Neji, narrowing his eyes. "That's nice, now why are you over here? This is no time for being lazy. You said you had a great idea to market these contacts."

"I don't."

Sasuke stood and spun around, ready to walk over and toss Neji out of his apartment. "Then why the hell are you here? I asked you to come over only when you have an idea. We're business partners, not _friends_. As long as you keep giving me ideas we'll get along just fine, but don't make an attempt to take me clubbing like you did when you saved me from my brother."

"I think you really wish you had a friend," Neji pointed out.

Sasuke's mouth opened wide and his eyes widened. He almost blushed out of embarrassment, but that moment soon past and he glared at the man sprawled out on his couch, assaulting his poor Whiskers. "No, I just need to beat Itachi at his own game. There are more things important than _friends_, Neji."

"But look at Shino. He started looking much happier after Kiba came along."

Sasuke sighed and slumped back into his chair. He went back to his work. Something told him there was something going on with _those_ two. Kiba already seemed like a clingy person, but after Shino's outburst close to two weeks ago, he couldn't just feel like they were just friends. After all, he'd had a friend before and even _that_ idiot hadn't– Okay, so maybe that last-placed loser _did_ get all up in arms about him, but it was in that blond's nature to do so, wasn't it? And that was _ages_ ago, back in elementary school. His old friend was trying to run for _mayor_ now! Of _course_ he wouldn't act like his normal, doofish self anymore! Adults didn't act like that! Adults were _mature_, not childishly yelling all over the place and demanding to be listened to, screaming just because their friend had left.

"I'm perfectly happy the way I am," he rebutted. "Why would you even _think_ otherwise? I don't need friends to be happy. As long as I have Whiskers, I'm perfectly fine."

"It's sad, don't you think? Having a _cat_ for a friend. You know what we should do? We should go to Ice." Sasuke gave him a drained look, and Neji scratched Whiskers behind her ears. "It would be the perfect opportunity to mess with your brother, don't you think?"

"Are you asking me to go to a gay bar with you?"

"To mess with your brother. Nothing more."

"Hell no. I don't want to be hit on."

Neji sighed. "You won't be, because everyone will assume you're with me."

"But I'm _not_."

"Look, if you don't want to, we can just stay here and watch Star Trek."

Sasuke finally looked over, more curious. Star Trek was…enticing. "We could do that…but you told me the show was stupid when you watched it last time…"

The Hyuuga smiled and bopped the cat on her nose, sending her running back to the bedroom. He sat up straight, patting the spot on the couch beside him. "I don't mind watching it, though. We could do that right now. Take a break from all of that stock-trading you're doing. You've been doing that for three hours. I'm bored. I told you I was up for anything, didn't I?"

The other man sighed and stretched a bit, cracking his shoulder bones, before he walked over and popped in one of the DVD's into the DVD player. He slumped down in the couch beside Neji, waiting for the movie to start.

"By the way, back when I took you clubbing," Neji started. When Sasuke groaned and looked back at him, Neji stared straight at the television screen, smirking to himself. His cheeks were tinged pink, as if the subject was embarrassing to talk about. "You weren't that bad at dancing, Sasuke. You got pretty drunk and just let loose… It was actually _fun_ being around you for once."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he looked almost hurt. "So you mean to say I'm not fun being around right now? You're only over here because you're bored. If you weren't bored, you wouldn't even come over, would you?"

Neji shook his head. "Of course I wouldn't. You're just not that fun of a person."

That comment _almost_ hurt, but Sasuke refused to let that get to him…

"And neither are _you_," he almost seethed.

…Or maybe not.

"I heard what you did to Chouji. That's pretty cruel, if you ask me… Not just toward him but also towards your own family, too. Not even I would do something like that." There was a short moment in which Neji looked over and gave him a _look_. He glared, feeling like a child all over again. "Itachi's a _different_ case, **okay**? I have a reason to hate him."

"I have a reason to hate my cousin, too. She's the one taking over the company. I can't get close to the company at all since my uncle and father got into an argument when they were younger and stopped speaking to each other. It was over the company, too. I rightfully own that company, you know. My father was ten times better than my uncle, and it shows by how much better I am than my cousin."

"You rightfully own _that_ company, huh?" Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest and clicked for the episode menu. He glared again, refusing to bring up his feelings on the matter. Instead, he shifted the conversation to something far easier on the mind. "I guess we're both just…enemies of our own families, then."

"You're right. We've got a lot in common."

A silence settled between them and Sasuke clicked one of the episodes. The menu made a "swiiiiiish" sound before Captain Kirk said something relatively intelligent, and the episode started. Sasuke stared straight at the television screen, but Neji had opted to looking around the room. Finally, after a while, Neji looked back at him, his face tingeing a darker shade of pink, breaching red.

"I don't remember what happened that night. I woke up in my apartment, but I don't remember anything before that. You have any idea what happened?"

Sasuke frowned. Shit. He'd opened a can of worms by changing the subject, hadn't he? "Hell if I know. I woke up in my apartment, too. I suppose we just parted ways in the elevator."

The two dwindled off into silence before Neji rubbed his head.

"My neighbor…c….congratulated me when I left my apartment the next day."

Sasuke was absolutely quiet until he cleared his throat, putting his arms behind his head nonchalantly. "Nothing happened that night, even if something did."

"R-Right. Nothing happened."

"_Nothing_ happened."

Both of them looked at each other, and Sasuke looked back toward the television, avoiding the other man's gaze. He could see through Neji too easily right now. Usually it was Neji doing all the seeing-through like an X-ray into his head, but right now he could _see_ Neji's train of thought.

"That's why you came over in the first place, isn't it? You have your answer; now get out of my apartment, Hyuuga."

With that said, Neji got up and left. Sasuke looked at his hands. He sat there for the longest time, the sound of the door slamming repeating in his head, over and over again. It was so strange, but now he felt so _hollow_. Whiskers was making her presence known again, but it felt like he was the only living creature in the house now. His hands shook, and he squeezed one, bringing it to his head. Neji's words replayed in his head, over and over again, as well.

"Tch. I completely forgot that guy still wanted to take over his uncle's company."

He sighed, squeezing his fist even tighter, clenching his teeth and spitting through a grimace– "H-He can _do_ that if he wants. It's not like I can stop him or anything. He'll just get the documents changed so we're no longer listed as partners, and that's his right if he so chooses. I don't care." He stared at the television screen for the longest time before he turned it off, throwing the remote onto the ground in a brief explosion of violence. The back to the remote flew off and the batteries went rolling onto the carpet and under the table, hiding from view but still very much there.

"I. Don't. **Care**," he repeated, forcing himself to believe it.

––––––––––––  
Sunday; 3:18 P.M.  
–––––––––––––––

Chouji walked into the bedroom with slight difficulty, staring in disgust at the mess Shikamaru left behind. When one was lazy, they tended not to clean up after themselves. He made his way through the minefield, desperately hoping not to hear a crack from anything breakable hiding underneath dirty clothes. They really needed to go to the Laundromat one of these days, and _soon_.

"Shikamaru, phone call for you. It's a woman."

Shikamaru looked up from his bed, where he was reading Gormenghast. "Phone for _me_?" He smirked. "Wow, I must be so _popular_, eh, Chouji? Two phone calls over the weekend. Both by women. Is it TenTen?"

Chouji shook his head and Shikamaru stood up, his eyebrows knitting together. "How did this chick get her hands on my cell phone number? Did she ask for me by _name_?"

"Yes, she did. I think she's from the office. Maybe TenTen tossed your number and this woman found it in the trash?"

"You _do_ realize she can hear you. Give me the phone, you're being rude."

He grabbed the phone from Chouji and shooed him away. Putting it up to his ear, he nodded his head despite the fact that he knew she couldn't see him. "Shikamaru Nara, here. You'll have to excuse my friend if you overheard any of that. May I ask who is calling?"

"Oh…this…this is…" He could practically hear the woman on the other end blushing. "This is Sh-Shiho… I…well, this is so embarrassing! See, I work as a secretary over in the woman's division…"

Shikamaru pulled the phone away and stared at it for the longest time, unable to believe his ears. He placed it back against his ear, snapping out of his thoughts. "I'm terribly sorry, again. _Who_ was this?"

"Shiho, from the woman's division. T-TenTen gave me your number…"

His face paled and he sat up straighter. "TenTen did? Well, what did she…uh… I hope you don't mind me asking this, and if it sounds rude, I'm terribly sorry, but…_w__hy_ did she give you my number?"

"You see…she…well…she thought…we'd…" Shiho trailed off into silence and Shikamaru felt the colour finally returning to his cheeks. So…TenTen was trying to hook him up with someone else, was she? Well, then that… There was no way around it, then. She hated his very being. There was no point in him even _trying_ to pursue her anymore, was there?

"She thought we should go out some time?" he breathed.

"Oh, that would be _wonderful_!! You see, I…I've actually liked you for quite some time, but I thought you and your friend Chouji were _gay_ until I heard from some strange man with sunglasses that your friend Chouji had a fiancée. I never approached you, and she noticed how much I liked you and offered to give me your number… I'm sorry if this seems forward…"

He had to chuckle at that. Shino's surprisingly big mouth had struck again. "Forward? Of course not." _'Unless forward counts as getting my number from a random stranger who has it and calling me up when I've never met you before then yes, it's _very_ forward,' _he thought to himself. "So," he continued, "Would you be interested in coming to lunch with me on Monday?"

"Oh, I'd love to!!"

"Great. After work we could probably go out and have a drink if you'd like."

"That sounds wonderful!"

––––––––––––––  
Monday; 9:08 A.M.  
–––––––––––––––––

Sakura strode through the office with a handful of memos in her arms, a bounce in her step for the first time in a long time. She went around, passing the memos out, until she finally reached her cubicle. She ducked in and slid into her chair, eager to get her work finished so she could goof off for the rest of the day.

As she typed up a few quick reminders and reached for her phone, she couldn't help but hum to herself happily. Across the aisle, from Shikamaru's desk, Chouji approached his friend, quite surprised and embarrassed all at once.

"Sh-Shikamaru…weren't we supposed to go get lunch today? I thought…we'd be talking with Sakura about that baptism so we could…um…hook up with her cousins, right?"

"Can't, Chouji. I'm eating lunch with Shiho, from the female division. I told you we were going out to dinner tonight, didn't I? Well, I'm also going to lunch with her. I can't, I'm really sorry."

Sakura's ears perked, and she looked over toward his cubicle, leaning over her computer as gingerly as possible. "Shikamaru," she started, her voice an all-too-innocent sing-song. "Why are you going out with Shiho from the female division? Isn't there someone _else_ you'd much rather eat lunch with?"

Shikamaru just gave her a weak look, glancing at Chouji, who was also giving him the same, "how could you?" look. It was exhausting being friends with these people, seriously! He sighed and crossed his hands over his chest, his cheeks tingeing pink. "Look, I'm tired of getting rejected by her every chance I get. Don't even _give_ me that tone, Sakura."

"Yes, but for you to make plans and cancel is just rude! We were going to talk about the baptism seriously, damn it!"

Chouji looked over at her, slightly bashful. "So, I guess it's just you and me then, eh, Sakura? Is TenTen going to be there?"

"Oh," her face paled and she rubbed the back of her head. "I…can't. I actually…have already made a previous engagement…"

"Ohhh," Shikamaru snorted. "Making plans and canceling them is just rude, Miss Haruno. _Remember_?"

"Shove it up your ass, Nara." She fumed, going back to her work, and Chouji frowned.

The two men began speaking, and as much as Sakura didn't want to admit it, she had a bit of a gossiping problem, and she couldn't help but tune her ears into their conversation as she worked.

"Shiho? The one who called yesterday? I thought you were obsessed with–"

"Look, TenTen gave Shiho my number. Now, doesn't that give you a hint that she probably doesn't want anything to do with me? Besides, she's vegan and is a devout one, at that. I can't put up with that for hours on end, Chouji. Look, Shiho is cute, okay. Don't misunderstand. It's not that I've gotten over her. I'm just…looking for people to occupy my time at the moment, alright?"

"You're the worst, Shikamaru!"

"You're doing the same thing!"

"I'm not 'looking for people to occupy my time' alright!? There's no chance with me and Hinata, so I'm trying my hardest to move on! If I need to pick up chicks at a baptism, then so be it!"

"Yeah, and–"

Sakura finally stood, her face bright red with anger. "Shikamaru, what do you mean she gave Shiho your number?"

Shikamaru quirked a brow at her, smirking to himself. "Eavesdropping is also rude, Miss Haruno."

"Look, all I'm asking is if TenTen really gave your number to Shiho or not."

"She did."

"Right," Sakura stormed out of the office, eager to get to the bottom of this. It was very obvious that TenTen and Shikamaru made a good couple, and even if TenTen wasn't interested, the fact that Shikamaru had been 'pining' over her for a year now just made her feel as if he needed to be given a chance, whether TenTen were interested or not.

A few minutes later she found herself in TenTen's office, pacing back and forth as TenTen watched her, all the while asking her why she needed to speak with her. Finally, she stopped and pointed at TenTen, biting her lip just slightly before she said, a bit too loudly, "What do you have against Shikamaru, Ten?"

TenTen went pink and put a hand to her cheek. "Uh…I…I don't have anything _against_ him, although I _do_ believe he shirks responsibilities too much and relies on Chouji too much… It feels like everyone is moving forward and he's standing still, doesn't it? You get that when you talk to him, don't you?"

Sakura sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I suppose…but he's concerned with getting Chouji and Hinata back together right now, so he's not really concerned with himself… I just need to know…" She pouted. "Why did you give Shiho Shikamaru's cell phone number? He gave that to _you_, you can't just give it away to strangers…"

TenTen's face darkened, and she fell back into her chair, staring off into space with a worried look. "Who told y– Ah, damn it. Shikamaru…" She frowned, twiddling her thumbs together. "Yes, I know… I know it was rude, but if you'd been around as long as I have, listening to Shiho go and on about Shikamaru, wouldn't you want to let her have her chance with him?"

"No."

The brunette gasped, looking back at Sakura and staring her straight in the eyes. "Wh-What!? How can you say that!? She deserved a chance! I couldn't just… I felt so _bad_!"

Sakura laughed. "If everyone got their chance, Shikamaru wouldn't be single right now for Shiho to have one. You can't immediately say that Shiho has a chance when Shikamaru doesn't."

TenTen frowned, twisting a small hair that had fallen loose from her buns around a shaking index finger. "W-W-Well, that's different… Shikama–Shikamaru is interested in m-me… I just thought…"

"Bull shit, TenTen! I've known you for _how_ long? You did the _same_ thing to Rock Lee when he first started flirting with you!"

"That's because I thought he still wanted _you_ and would just use me!"

Sakura took a step back and frowned, staring at the woman's mask slowly crumble. She'd known her for a long time, and she still couldn't _believe_ this was happening. Shikamaru would become Rock Lee and then they'd get into a bitch fight that resulted in one of the girls involved leaving–most likely TenTen, judging by her personality. She sighed, blowing a strand of pink hair from her eyes.

"Shikamaru is _not_ interested in me, Ten. I know you're not going to trust me on this, but he's not _interested_ in _me_. Why else would he throw my number on the ground and give his number to both of us?"

"Yes, but he gave his number to _both_ of–"

She laughed. "And he threw _my_ number away! That obviously means he wants _your_ number and was very angry about it, but was too polite and too _stupid_ to be direct about it." She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Listen, if Shikamaru were interested in me, he'd tell me."

"Well, he didn't tell me…"

"Yes, and he's going out with Shiho today."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because Shiho isn't _you_ and he has no problem asking _her_ out somewhere. That's why. If you were around Shikamaru as often as I were, it'd be very obvious the only one he acts nervous around is _you_. And what does that mean, Ten? That means he's only interested in you, _right_?"

"Don't talk down to me, Sakura." The brunette sighed, looking down at her desk. "It's not that simple. I've got this job and I've got to feel independent and I _still_ live with my parents and I just don't have time to worry about a man right now. I need to get myself together. I'm a mess. I can't even answer these letters I've been getting because my hands keep shaking every time I sense even the hint of a problem. My days of helping other people are over, Sakura. I need to just help _me_ right now."

Her best friend sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "I understand, Ten. Just…please don't take too long. If you wait too long, it'll be too late."

"It won't be too late if he likes me as much as you say he does. He'll just go from one girl to the other before I approach him." She looked back at her work, sighing and picking up another letter. She started to read it, and her fingers trembled. A nervous chuckle escaped her lips, and though Sakura couldn't see through the paper, she knew TenTen was on the verge of tears.

"This woman wrote to me telling me she feels pressured to be strong for everyone at her office and inside feels helpless. It's…It's tragic, right? She feels like she needs someone to keep her afloat, but she's too afraid to accept that because it makes her feel weak, even if she needs it…" She buried her face into the paper and started to shake.

"Ten…" Sakura sighed, going over and placing a hand on her shoulder. "You need a day off. You need a vacation, Ten. Please, please, _please_ tell me you'll take a vacation."

When TenTen nodded her head, Sakura pried the paper from her hands. She sighed even deeper, pulling one of the chairs up to the desk. "Let me help you find a few easy-goings ones to answer. Nothing will be moving, but we can still get this done. I can help you out until you feel well enough to do on your own, okay?"

"Y…Y–…O-Okay…" She took a deep breath and smudged her eyes, hoping she didn't smear her mascara. "Thank you, Sakura, but what about lunch? Are you okay with not eating? I'm really behind…"

"No, I've got plenty of time and I've got nowhere I need to be. Trust me." Sakura smiled sadly, staring at the paper TenTen had been reading. It was blank. She chuckled, tossing it in the trash. "Ten, you shouldn't be afraid of asking for help."

"And neither should you, Sakura." The pair shared a warm smile and Sakura picked up a letter and got to work.

"I've already started asking for help again. It's just time for you."

TenTen didn't feel like asking Sakura what she meant, and something told her she wouldn't get a clear answer even if she did ask.


End file.
